[ As the cold of night settles on the hill ]

As the cold of night settles on the hill
As the darkness flows into the valley
The little town remains so still

The children in their beds
Mothers by the fire
Old men full and fed

The church at the end of the street
No longer used but once a week
But on this cold and lonely night
This church holds but just one last fright

Sitting in the backmost pew
Is a man of black and white
This man just sits and waits for the night to begin
Silent and unseen

The organ starts
With no little old woman in sight
The large oak doors blow open
But there is no breeze, not even ever so light

Standing in the pale candle light of the hall
Is the beautiful bride of white
And as she begins to walk the length of the aisle
Her groom steps up to the alter

The man of black and white
Watching ever so closely
Sees the darkness of the girls' hair
The red of her lips and the white of her skin
So white it matched her dress
The lips so red

The organ playing an enchanting melody
So sad for such an occasion
So sad for a wedding so kind

The man in the backmost pew of the church
Turns his gaze to the groom
what messy hair for a boy to have
and no bowtie? what a shame he is
this boy is not worthy of a girl so beautiful

Yet love prevails, conquers all
Sears deep into their hearts
Shields them when they fall

The unfortunate events yet to unfold
Hold deep dark secrets
Secrets that must never be told
As this man of black and white
Is not here as an innocent bystander
He is here for a reason tonight

As the bride of white walks the aisle
The boys gaze never leaves hers
Their eyes connected by an invisible force
Their eyes connected from a never dying source

She turns to face him
No emotion on her face
But there is no need for emotion
You could see her soul just by staring into her eyes

At the alter they are
No need for a priest
Their vows are bizarre
As the boy recites

“With this hand I will life your sorrows”
he could never be strong enough to hold her sorrows
“Your cup will never be empty, for I will be your wine”
you will be, no, your blood will be
“With this candle, I will light your way in darkness”
your darkness…
“With this ring I ask you to be mine”

And with tears in her eyes
The bride takes his hand
Looks into his soul
And sees the light drain

The boy falls to the ground
His body so limp
She lets go of his hand
And begins to weep

With one shrill cry
She voices her mind
“Why?”

With that the man of black and white appears
Right next to her, as if in a dream
“What happened? Why are you here?”

No words can escape
No words ever have
He just looks down at her
With his cold and lonely eyes

A pain so unbearable
A feeling so deep
This young girl’s love is now stronger than ever
A love she cannot keep

Her heart has exploded
The blood seeping through
And staining her dress

This love was to strong
For a heart so weak
So battered and broken

Now lying there in the candle light
Is a girl in a crimson dress
A boy who cannot love
And there to take them away
The man of black and white