You don’t know what you’re asking, but I’ll try to explain:
Remember the day when her eyes went dark?
The day that the clouds disappeared?
Oh, you are a traveler and not
One whose blood is bound to this land.
Take off your coat and take off your shoes
Take a seat by the fire and I’ll spin you a story.
Once this desert was all fertile land
When I was a child I swear it was so
Clear rivers ran down the tree covered mountains
The fields went gold with grain
Like flame that swept during autumn harvest
And I recall the sky blue as a gem
Curving above my head like a stretched canopy.
Now think back through those years
To that cold season of grey
Rain that chilled as it fell
With promises of disaster to come soaking the soil.
Before an antidote to the poison could be found
Came the heat that scorched and burned
With no clouds to relieve the oppression.
That autumn the raiders came
She’ll still scarcely mention those dark days of death
You’d say she’s unscathed, to look at her now
But you – forgive my saying so – are a stranger
How could you see what you never knew?
Her eyes used to dance with bright joy
But that was before she learned not to cry.
You asked why this land is so barren and parched
Why the children looked at you with empty eyes
What else can I say that can trace out the lines?
Would you watch those you loved die?
Or would you become a killer as well?
You look like you do not believe what I say
So I will tell you the other option.
There is a third way to live in this land
But maybe the most deadly of all.
You cut yourself off and fade into shadow
Build high strong walls and maintain your armor
If you don’t care, how can you be hurt?
But the heart goes hard with brittle pain
And so eyes go dark with untold stories.
You stand up and pick up your coat
Time to hit the road again
Maybe you’re sorry you asked what you did
But I ask that you remember my words.
There will come a time in your life
When the choice will face you
And I pray that you find a way to live.
