I have seen the fingers of the earth reach around Raze great cities to the ground Seen those cities built gain They rose up into the sky Watched them dissolve before my eyes Watched buds bloom and burst forth Fold up into the arms of the night And return with first light
I have cursed you and all your kin Felt the distance grow within I have known your presence come to move me It caught me by surprise I knew there and then that you were wise And all this while I was haunted by your eyes
Here is the keepsake It will keep safe
I have cheated out of sight and sound To walk again the barren ground I have scratched the same soil And put my back into the toil Cut through the undergrowth and grass Hammered out a home, a house This I keep aside for you Keep alive inside of you
Here is the keepsake It will keep safe
I have seen the darkest storm Rip through the tall trees And the life that lay within The earth laid bare, washed clean Startled cats venture out Shake the water from their backs All is new now All is new And I feel here That all is well with you I have seen the sleeping seedling Rise up out of the earth’s beating heart Watched the sunlight shiver, across the creeks swift flight I have seen the earth stir And strike out the sun I have seen the earth at peace And as one
Here is the keepsake It will keep safe
You and I suspended between With rain for the dirt Of a hundred years And you whisper to me Of sleep for the dreams of a hundred more I have seen in you all this and more All this and more All this and more
Here is the keepsake It will keep safe
Sleep for the dreams of a hundred years Here is the keepsake It will keep safe