Concordia Military Club - The Rosebuds

Trapped up in my keeper’s room, the pride of the circus tent

Brought there for my safety, to hide among the made-up beds

Outside magic filled the carefree eastern streets

I could feel a stomach churn beneath the polished teak

They all dressed as swallows with feathers in their hair

And all that night they laughed and danced

While the walls shook the gas chandeliers

I trumpeted and I roared, but no one seemed to hear

Shoulder blades beneath the water slid closer every year

Men in suits proudly talked of the pointed peak

Pillars of flames built armies who were hungry and had to eat

They all dressed as swallows and songbirds bearing gifts

And I could feel it in my bones

Something out there somewhere had to give

Narrows canals no longer flow, and nothing happens here

And even in the afterlife an elephant can’t forget

Skull and bones of a Bengal tiger wash in the sea

A reminder of that August night when the Island disappeared

They all dressed as swallows and songbirds on that eve

Falls of ashes pouring down as the ocean turned into a milk-white sea