There Was a Country by the Sea

There was a country by the sea
But I cannot say for certain
Whether it was part of a lonely isle
Or merely some coastal region
A landing stage of rotten plains
Stretched carefully into the waves
And for one moment I did wonder
What frightening purpose it might serve
Oh, heavy, roaring, endless seas
What secrets does this rage entomb?
Have ancient memories or hungry ghosts
Gathered all their strength
To call for this storm?
Deep seated gardens
Almost a labyrinth
Walled in by ruins and rock ivy-clad
Perhaps this strange place had once been a palace
Where now violet bushes bear dark thorns instead
A young boy was taking me by the hand
And unerringly he was leading me down
Below the gardens
Which I hardly remembered
The moment I took the first step underground
We came to a room with only small windows
And to my surprise I could somehow still hear
Though reduced to a murmur
Now childlike and humming
The once savage voice of the roaring sea
The boy has built a catacomb he's living in a tomb
Below the ground
Where there's no sound
He's hiding from the world
Something resembling an altar was built there
A secret overshadowed structure and in use
Underneath, in inanimate self-contemplation, lay a jet-black mass of coal-like granules
Yet this dark material had an unearthly likeness
And when I touched it
To feel what it was
It did seem to totally ignore my presence
Without leaving a trace
It came trickling off
Then, out of a sudden from under the barrow, something appeared unexpectedly
It was the bones of the little boy's mother
Which he had placed with greatest care underneath
The boy has built a catacomb
He is living in a tomb
Below the ground
Where there's no sound
He's hiding from the world
There must have been something in my look
Because the little boy started to speak
And to my unvoiced question
Of why he had done this
He answered these words to me
"This is the only way I can be safe from her"
"Only this can guarantee"
"That she will not rise again"
"Because whewn she does"
"She is always following me"
"There's just no alternative"
"I cannot escape from her"
"Because as soon as I try"
"She will rise up again"
"Merely to haunt me"
"Oh, believe me"
"I have tried numerous times"
"But here in these vaults"
"I have finally found"
"Something that works like a seal"
"These jet-black granules"
"Do keep me from harm"
"And her bones can no longer hurt me"
"Piled up in a certain, specific form"
"All the remains must be covered with it"
"Then everything keeps still"
"And for a brief moment I can pretend that she does not exist"
"Yet all of the time I must be on my guard"
"As now and then it does happen indeed"
"That frequently the earth does tremble and shaken"
"And some of the stones are starting to slip"
"So constantly I have to control the barrow"
"The jet-black darkness of the coal-like mass"
"In order to be there"
"To repair the damage"
"To pile all back safely"
"And to replace"
The boy has built a catacomb
He's living in a tomb
Below the ground
Where there's no sound
He's hiding from the terrible world
It took me a while
To realize that we all have secrets and fears
Is it then a surprise
That we close our minds
From the pain that is causing these tears?
The boy has built a catacomb
He's living in a tomb
Far below the ground
Where there's no sound
He's hiding from the terrible world