The past is so full of pain
Is the future full of pain also
Yes the future is full of pain
The bones of the dead are waiting
Shells are already washing ashore
The sky is unleashing destruction down
Upon the earth in waves of fire
And the bodies of men and women
Are loving one another forever
The tide comes so regularly
Will the moon be loyal too
Yes the moon will be loyal and will shine
Through the darkness for the child lying in bed
Half in shadow who loves everything at once and is content.
And the moon and the stars shall leave a trail
For those listening and wanting to follow
The animals are so lonely
Is their loneliness the fruit of our neglect
No the animals are alone for a reason
They do not need us, they hear us coming
And they flee into the wilderness
Let them go, let them alone
The cities we’re going to build
Will they touch the heavens and replenish the earth
No Earth replenishes herself
And the cities will crumble into dust
But out of the dust the cities will rise again.
Earth patient and enduring shall abide
The human swarm that levels her forests
And burns her fields and dams her rivers
But she shall not abide forever
The human shadow is so long and dark
Will life have its place in the sun
Yes life will have its place in the sun
The black terrible bulls will charge with their horns
And the air will be ablaze with their blood
That drenches and soaks and seeps into the ground
For the next generation and the one after that.
The death that sweetens the bitter old men
With imaginings of glory and sacrifice
Will flash affirming full of immediate and high longing
In the eyes of their sons
The death that stalks the present
Will it ever find a home
No the death that stalks the present
Will never find a home
It is hungry and ravenous and endlessly seeking
And its only aim is to accomplish its nature,
Whoever stands in its way is damned,
Whoever yields to it is also damned
Sleep is so swift and deep in the night
And dreams carry us so far that we’re afraid
Will we always be afraid
No though you will hear the voice of sleep say your name
And the night will offer no shelter
Your safety is in going forward to meet your dreams
And taking them back with you into day
The people you meet by day will be the holy essence
Of where sleep takes you in the night
So lie down and be still where the pillow is soft
The morning of the next day seems so far away
Will we ever awaken
Yes you will awaken when the time comes
And the sun will take pity and will rise
From dawn where it has always been
And you will show your thanks by bearing witness
To the geography of pain which its light reveals
The old meanings are being lost for good
Will new meanings come to take their place
Yes new meanings will come to take their place
By those who dirty their hands in the rubbish of time,
Who fashion the sacred places where tears fall
And are caught in the hands of lovers, in the hands of children,
Who while they sleep know not what they do
Botsford, Alan. A Book of Shadows. Katydid Books, 2003.
