Sounding The Seventh Trumpet (2001) "Forgotten Faces"

[Reprinted as written by Avenged Sevenfold]

Forgotten faces.
Lost in yesterdays realm.
Drained with confusion.
Where did it all go?
Look into the past, look into their faces.
Never, the thought of being time f****d.
But now they're all gone and all that's left is this blank faced picture.
Ninety percent, nothing was done, nothing accomplished,
coasting through life didn't seize the day.
No one ever realized that they're already dead.
By the time you realize, you'll be dead too.
Without another chance to save the world, these things they're gone, your gone, forgotten.
Now your face in my picture frame. It's gone, forever.
Right before my very eyes.
And just when I thought I made light of things.
It slips away, into darkness.
My life passes now I see.
Just what this world does hold for me.
It's getting hard, harder to breathe.
Am I out of time is that what this means?
Well that's what it means.
That's what it means, you and me try to breathe.
Now you. Realize.
Your life, flies by.
Now I. Realize.
My life, I die.

As I listened to the poet sing this song, another song interwove with it, in my inner ear. Another poet from ancient times...

Forgotten faces.
Lost in yesterdays realm.
Drained with confusion.

Everything is nonsense.
I have seen it all--
nothing makes sense!
What is there to show
for all of our hard work
here on this earth?
People come, and people go,

Where did it all go?
Look into the past, look into their faces.
Never, the thought of being time f****d.
But now they're all gone and all that's left is this blank faced picture.

No one who lived in the past
is remembered anymore,
and everyone yet to be born
will be forgotten too.

Ninety percent, nothing was done, nothing accomplished,
coasting through life didn't seize the day.
No one ever realized that they're already dead.
By the time you realize, you'll be dead too.
Without another chance to save the world, these things they're gone, your gone, forgotten.

I turned my head and saw yet another wisp of smoke on its way
to nothingness: a solitary person, completely alone—
no children, no family, no friends—
yet working obsessively late into the night, compulsively greedy
for more and more, never bothering to ask,
"Why am I working like a dog, never having any fun? And who cares?"
More smoke. A bad business

Now your face in my picture frame. It's gone, forever.
Right before my very eyes.
And just when I thought I made light of things.
It slips away, into darkness.
My life passes now I see.
Just what this world does hold for me.
It's getting hard, harder to breathe.
Am I out of time is that what this means?

Life is short and meaningless, and it fades away like a shadow.
Who knows what is best for us?
Who knows what will happen after we are gone?

Well that's what it means.
That's what it means, you and me try to breathe.
Now you. Realize.
Your life, flies by.
Now I. Realize.
My life, I die

It's better to have a partner than go it alone.
Share the work, share the wealth.
And if one falls down, the other helps,
But if there's no one to help, tough!

Two in a bed warm each other.
Alone, you shiver all night.

By yourself you're unprotected.
With a friend you can face the worst.
Can you round up a third?
A three-stranded rope isn't easily snapped

The ancient poet thought about the meaning of life, and all the things we think bring life meaning -- changing the world, being remembered, having wealth, working hard and making a lasting monument to ourselves, being powerful...Then I thought about everything I had done, including the hard work, and it was simply chasing the wind. Nothing on earth is worth the trouble.

Both poets, ancient and metal, have come to the same conclusion. Meaning is found in relationship, in the love that brings union, to breathe together, go through life together, and even beyond that, going through death to new life.

Only one Person can breathe this meaning into life, Whose love reaches even beyond death. His breath is His Spirit, and His Spirit is life, light and love.

[The poet intends for us to see that most people waste their lives, but will not truly see it until they look back from the perspective of death]

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