We came down the shattered stone to the requisite river of blood
“Here we cross the border into true torment
Here at the reservoir where flows all of the violent flood
The spring that is open,” the poet said “by those sent
Here to boil eternally in every drop that’s shed
By their victims, by the innocent”
Some to their ankles some in over their heads
Some floating down the stream
The river of blood in its bloody riverbed
And seeing I winced at the stench of the carnal stream
My guide said “mark well and remember
That horrifying as the spectacle may seem
It is only the last eternal blood red ember
of the violent fantasies of violent hearts
A sinister club of sinister men and none is here who’s not a member
In death in life we play our chosen parts
Some choose the sharp end of the sliver
And those who carry on the violent arts,”
He said as we crossed a shallow in the river,
“Ah well what a man ties up fate shall deliver.”
This song is part of a series loosely based on Dante's Inferno. You can read an essay about this series here. You can read a more general explanation of the origin of these lyrics here
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