Wheel of Fortune

Lyrics

The axis holds. The rim begins.

Four winged beasts in the corners of the amber frame
Reading from their open ledgers, tracking every name
They don't look at you, they only watch the page
Waiting for the sudden lurch that turns another age
A golden lion, a heavy bull, an eagle in the wind
Writing down exactly where the circle will begin

And the great wheel spins, the letters R O T A
Spelling out a secret you can never quite say
T A R O, the cipher in the wood
You thought you held the handles, you thought you understood
But you are only riding on the edge of the rim
Waiting for the light to rise, waiting for the spin

Look down the left side, the serpent slithers low
Shedding all his golden scales into the undertow
Look up the right side, the jackal's climbing back
Up seventeen iron notches, bracing for the catch
He's grinning like a bridegroom, ascending to the crown
Forgetting that the gravity will pull his body down

While the great wheel spins, the letters R O T A
Spelling out a secret you can never quite say
T A R O, the cipher in the wood
You thought you held the handles, you thought you understood
But you are only riding on the edge of the rim
Waiting for the light to rise, waiting for the spin

At the very apex, the sphinx rests on her sword
Unbothered by the panic of the spinning lower world
Your cortex tries to map the motion, memorize the speed
But the pattern isn't made for human eyes to read
It's just the awful beauty of an overturning day

When the great wheel spins, the letters R O T A
Spelling out the secret you can never quite say
T A R O, the cipher in the wood
You thought you held the handles, you thought you understood
But you are only riding on the edge of the rim
Waiting for the light to rise, waiting for the spin

You are at the apex now.
Enjoy the view.
The serpent is waiting.
The jackal is too.
Just the turn...
Moving just a fraction of an inch from where it