An ancient city atop an ancient hill
Strives to breathe above the dust
Strives to soar above base desire
A thousand generations fortified Mdina
In pre-history I stood here, watching
As they came from the South
As they came at us from the East
Whilst the earthquakes shivered the ground
Phonecians, Byzantines, Arabs attacked
But none could make their works stick
But none could keep the fortunes alive
As broken bodies piled up in the streets
The Silent City’s palaces still stand
We watch together as the sun rises
We watch together as the empires fall
From this ancient city atop this ancient hill
The groaning souls of the exhausted dead
Are banished to the Catacombs
Outside these city walls and never to enter Mdina
Miles of ancient tunnels underneath parched Rabat
Where something more primeval rules
Here, it is said, if you stand and listen
You can hear the whispers
Doomed generation after deranged generation
Banished to these subterranean sandstone cathedrals
In the galleries and recesses of rest
These crypts to cry out
We cry out
And we call
Join us
Join us
Join us
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