Whisperwood

[Intro] (Acoustic guitar fingerpicking in a minor key, slow and sparse) [Verse 1] The sun dips low behind the Whisperwood Casting shadows long and deep The wind sighs through the branches bare Secrets only old trees keep I found a token by the mossy stone A ribbon faded, frayed, and grey Like promises whispered long ago That simply blew away [Chorus] Oh, the Whisperwood, it calls my name A mournful sound upon the breeze It speaks of loss, of love, of shame And rustles through the dying leaves It knows the weight of every tear That ever fell upon this ground And holds the echoes, sharp and clear Of footsteps never homeward bound [Verse 2] The raven perched upon the crooked limb Watched with eyes like polished coal As I traced the path grown faint and dim That led down to the blackened knoll Where nettles c***e the broken gate And ivy climbs the crumbling wall Fate wrote its ending, sealed its date Before the final curtain fall [Chorus] Oh, the Whisperwood, it calls my name A mournful sound upon the breeze It speaks of loss, of love, of shame And rustles through the dying leaves It knows the weight of every tear That ever fell upon this ground And holds the echoes, sharp and clear Of footsteps never homeward bound [Bridge] The moon, a sliver, cold and thin Casts silver on the forest floor Illuminating where they've been And what they're searching for A hunger deep within the roots A thirst the damp earth can't deny The bitter truth the silence shoots Beneath the watchful, starless sky [Verse 3] I leave no offering, no prayer Just turn my collar to the chill The weight of knowing lingers there Upon that dark and silent hill The Whisperwood will keep its hold On stories buried in the loam Of hearts grown weary, young and old Who never found their way back home [Chorus] Oh, the Whisperwood, it calls my name A mournful sound upon the breeze It speaks of loss, of love, of shame And rustles through the dying leaves It knows the weight of every tear That ever fell upon this ground And holds the echoes, sharp and clear Of footsteps never homeward bound [Outro] (Acoustic guitar fades slowly, repeating the minor key motif, becoming softer until silence)