Somewhere

The sun is somewhere in a cloudy sky
And I can’t tell the hour, nor east from west, But though the dusk my spirit would deny

My body’s telling me it’s time to rest,
And what has carried me these miles beyond
My starting point, that dawn so far away

The fundamental memories are gone,
Would somewhere in the middle of the day
Turn to its history of winding roads

And heaving hills and shifting winds and rain. But if what breathes can bear the pains and loads What lives will take each step as gift and gain And claim the highways leveled and unbending, And dream the better day of its unending.


Somewhere, past the fog, up in the trees,
A bluebird sings its timeless song to me And to the world of possibilities Of heaven unsophisticatedly Descending on a sunless day, a song So sweet and sad and simple that the air At once intoxicates and makes me strong, Uplifts me and abandons me. Somewhere, I must believe, my destiny awaits, And at the final turn, this history Will end and leave its luggage at the gates: This road, this day, this bird that sings to me, And all these weary words will cease to be And I will fly into eternity.


from Thirty Birds