Across Waters

Come in son, take off them boots
Hang up your coat
Pull up that chair to the stove, where it’s warm
Will you have coffee or tea
On this grey November morning?
Thank you for asking, I guess I’m OK
Last night I woke up
With a dream that’s been haunting me
Over and over again I see faces
Turning away from the fire
That’s burning the house
That my father was born in
Down by the river
Now covered in ice
That people are trying to cross
Frantically hoping to save what is left
Of their lives
Across the waters
Across the cold dark waters
Then all of a sudden the images change
Far away hills roll away in the sun
I feel the longing of spring
There’s me as a child
Happily laughing goodbye to my father
Who is leaving to fight in some war
And the house seems to whisper: leave
Across the waters
So thank you for asking
Yes I’m ok, this fire has burnt down low
But don’t worry
It has ceased to remind me
Of my home by the river
I’m ready to leave