Row by Row the Nettles Grow

Row by row the nettles grow And circles do surround Hairy stems the prison wires And jagged leaves their barbs. Cry out, forsaken sinner Your voice shall not be heard We listen to the wind song And hark its piercing sound. Your poison nettle vapours Cling to my moistened lungs And acrid nettle juices Drip from my swollen mouth. Alone, now in death— Eden’s angel looms Sword aflame in hand To keep you on your own. Cry out your purgatory Futile ring your pleas You beg to rise at morning To crawl out from your tomb Longing for light of day Immobile in that room That blade your only sun And guardian your god. Cry out, cry out You nettle-captured fiend Cry out for life For banished liberty. Cry out, cry out, vanquished foe Your lies now hold no weight I from serpent’s lips released For it is finished, so He said.