Before the roads were laid in stone,
Before the first great kingdoms rose,
I wandered through the world alone,
Where ancient rivers flow.
I wrapped lovers in the warmth of spring,
And scattered blossoms where they lay,
Yet even I could not prevent
The years from stealing youth away.
I’ve watched the soldiers march to war,
Their mothers weeping by the lane,
And carried prayers across the fields
For sons who’d never come home again.
I’ve watched the children laugh and play,
And chased their footsteps through the grass,
Then seen them grow and drift away,
As generations came to pass.
For I remember every soul
Who walked beneath the open sky,
Each whispered hope, each broken dream,
Each final breath, each last goodbye.
I, too, have mourned the ones I’ve loved,
Though none have seen the tears I’ve shed;
They fall as rain upon the earth,
And wake the flowers above the dead.
Their laughter lingers in my streams,
Their sorrow settles in the rain,
Their love is written in the stars,
And blooms within the earth again.
You may believe the dead are gone,
That time has swept their lives away,
But I have held them all within
The endless turning of each day.
And when your footsteps cease at last,
And silence claims your earthly name,
I’ll gather all the love you gave,
And keep its gentle, living flame.
I’ll place your dreams among the stars,
Your laughter in the summer air,
Your tears within the falling rain,
So something of you lingers there.
For I am older than your sorrows,
Yet young as every waking spring,
The keeper of forgotten lives,
The voice within each living thing.
Nothing loved is truly lost,
Though all must change, and all must cease.
I take what time cannot preserve,
And give you back to earth in peace.
