Songs

Songs can be compositions written or adapted for singing, lyric poems or ballads, or even poetry and verse designed to convey experiences, ideas, or emotions in a vivid and imaginative way. By whatever definition, these songs represent the original art or work, authored or adapted by our membership, with an intended intensity or beauty of language suggestive of poetry.
Translated Works

nuHwIj vIvan

nuHwIj yISov

latlhmey vIleghpu' 'ach nuHwIj muqaq

yInwIj vISeH nuHwIj vISeHnIS

batlh vIlo'nIS

jaghwIj muHoHqang vIHoHnIS

nuHwIj pIchmeyDaj 'ej HoSmeyDaj vIghojnIS

vIQorgh 'ej vIQantaH

Suv vISuHtaH Say ghuS je vIleHtaH

joH'a'meylan naDev vIQam 'ej 'Ip vIjatlh

Segh tlhIngan vIQan

jaghwIj Dung vIQam 'ej yay vIDoQ

yInwIj toDwI' vIDa jIH

nIteb jaghwIj muDa roj 'e' chollI'DI'

Adapted Works

Oath of Empire

Beneath the naked stars that drip with blood.
I stand, strong and alone.

I am here, my Empire.
Call on me, I ask of thee.

I was without purpose before this day.
Without purpose shall I remain if I cannot stand for thee now.

Pain and suffering are of my acceptance.
Order me to where I may serve best.

It matters not that I survive, only that which I defend.
Forfeit of life, but not of honor,

In thy cause, death is welcomed.
I stand here, my Empire.

Ready at last to be an instrument of manifest destiny.
Ready to fight and die.

Day of Honor

Look to this day
For it is life
The very life of life
In it�s brief course lie all
The realities and verities of
Existence

The pride of growth
The splendor of action
The glory of power

For yesterday is but a dream
And tomorrow is only a vision
But today, well lived
Makes every Yesterday a dream
Of honor
And every tomorrow a vision of strength

Look well,
Therefore, to this day

Ode to the Naked Stars

�And though I had slain a thousand foes less one,
The thousandth knife found my liver;
The thousandth enemy said to me

�Now ow you shall die, and none shall know�

And the fool looking down, believed this,
Not seeing, above his shoulder,
The naked stars

Each one remembering.

The Lone Warrior

Some warriors are solitary because of circumstances,
but the rest are solitary by choice.

We all enjoy gathering with brother warriors,
but some feel no need to join a formal group.

They understand that there is a difference
between being alone and being lonely.

They enjoy their independence and
prefer the freedom to act in their own way.

In Battle

Warrior!
Listen to your blood,

As the voice of battle cries out!
Fight or die!

When battle begins,your blood becomes hot,
The enemy falls

Their bodies are everywhere
Their blood becomes cold.

So!
Enjoy the battle while you accompany your brothers of war!

Original Works

Dark Statues

I stand beneath a smoke filled sky
Flames burn all I see
We fought well this battle day
Seizing victory
As I stare across the field
My gaze is turned within
Amid my self made darkness
Is a place I am often in
I journey here when need is great
To hear my songs retold
Each and every victory
And even each foul loss
Is placed inside this hall of songs
To be sung out loud and bold
A strange two sided chorus
Makes each note of every tale
On one side are those I have slain
Their voices cold and stale
Facing them are those I have lost
Singing proud but pale
Every day these songs are sung
As new songs fill the ranks
Joining with the older songs
For these I sing my thanks
Each memory stands as a statue
Inside this great dark hall
Every day of my warrior life
Is as a stone in these great walls
Soon I must return
To the place I stand today
Amid the smoke and fire
We won, sent enemies away
Now this day holds victory
To be one of the best
As I add it to this hall of songs
To stand watch with the rest
Now I cross the battlefield
To meet my brother Klin
The time to celebrate has come
Remembering what was done
We will stand and sing our songs
Of glory all night long
And when it all is over
As the new day comes to dawn
We will rise up and march off
Always just as strong
For we are tlhIngan warriors
For this it is our song
Ships of Old & New

In battle there are warriors
Who set themselves apart
And since the time of Ancestors
Have sailed beneath the stars

Now we have extended
Our territory high
We sail among the stars themselves
Full of tlhIngan pride

In days long past, we sailed the seas
In ships of strong stout wood
Now we pilot ships of steel
For honor and for blood

These modern ships we now serve on
Have much to make us proud
Yet still we look back to the past
And call out long and loud

Upon these ships that we now fly
We will stand and fight
And if victory is not our prize
Let death come to our side
Lament for Enemies Killed in Battle

As a child I had killed animals,
Both for food and for the thrill of the hunt,
But this was different.

These were my enemies true enough,
And they died as all should die, in battle.
They died with my blood,
The blood of their enemy on their hands.
Yet still I felt remorse.

Even as I abandoned their still warm bodies,
I mourned for their spirits.
For these were beings capable of using language,
Capable of surrendering,
Capable of begging for their pitiful lives,
Yet they did not.

They stared back at me through their pain,
With eyes so full of blood that no tears could form.
And they slowly entered the other realm.
That day as I stood and overlooked the battlefield,
I saw the bodies smoldering in the afterglow of war.
I looked upwards to the sky,
The naked stars shown bright upon me,
As I shouted for all to hear:

Today on this battlefield I am a warrior.
As was my father before me,
So shall my sons be long after I have fought my last battle.
Let all bear witness this day,
As the blood of my wounds runs down,
To mix with the blood of my fallen comrades,
It also runs to mix with the foul blood of my enemies,
and I am made whole.
I am at one with myself.

I embrace my warrior spirit even as it embraces me.
I know myself better than I have ever known myself.
I am jagh qawwI': He who remembers his enemies.
For he who remembers his enemies,
Gives to them a greater honor,
Than they could ever know themselves.