Cold Crown
White breath
on the window
Black pines hold their ground A
lone bell under frozen soil
No one makes a sound
You left one boot by the
doorway
Frost climbed over the leather The
kettle clicked at midnight Then the
house went still forever
I keep the iron latch drawn
I keep the lamp turned low
Your name is cut in the
table But I never let it
show If you hear the branches
breaking Do not answer from the
hall
Something old is making circles Something
patient wants you small
Bow down
Winter is coming Cold crown
Black river running Stand still
Hear the mountain calling One step
And the whole night’s falling Bow
down
No fire can save you Cold
crown
The dark will name you Hands
up
When the long drums thunder One
breath
Then the ice pulls under
You found red thread in the
snowbank Tied tight around a pine
Seven knots for seven mornings Seven
doors behind your eyes The ravens
quit the tree line The dogs
refused the road You said there’s
gold beneath the chapel I said
leave the earth alone Now the
north wind fills the rafters Now
the old bones start to groan
Every promise buried deeper Finds a
way to lead you home
Bow down
Winter is coming Cold crown
Black river running Stand still
Hear the mountain calling One step
And the whole night’s falling Bow
down
No fire can save you Cold
crown
The dark will name you Hands
up
When the long drums thunder One
breath
Then the ice pulls under No
lantern,
no horse
No road
through the white
Your heartbeat counts down
Beneath the thin ice
Bow down
Winter is coming Cold crown
Black river running Stand still
Hear the mountain calling One step
And the whole night’s falling Bow
down
Let the north wind take you
Cold crown
Let the old stones wake you
Hands up
When the long drums thunder One
breath
Then the ice pulls under
White breath
on the window
Black pines hold their ground A
lone bell under frozen soil Still
no one makes a sound