Burning Fingers - Shawn Phillips

I look up in the sky

A figure bows its head

And then I wonder why

They tell me I’ll be dead

The ashes in the tray

My bones of mortal webs

The blood of liquid clay

The brain that swiftly ebbs

We speed on towards the light

Hurling blockades into sand

We know that that is right

We need to hold a hand

That makes us all the same

We see and hear and taste

We speak and play the game

Are you worried about the haste?

Can you identify with I?

Do many pieces still remain?

Or do you ebb and cry

And forget you have a name?

Have you ever felt the wind

In the leaves among your heart?

Or do you still intend

To let your love depart?

The force of love is strong

Like the light from distant space

The might of love is long

Despite refusal to end the race

The sun is setting down

Where are the eyes to see it rise?

No one keeps a crown

Except of thorns or gaudy paste

The time is drawing nigh

We can go and self destruct

Or simply fade away

With the rosy glow of dusk

Or open up our minds

And realize the depth

Or never see the pines

And accept the tragic death

Our fate is in our hands

Can the demons gain the sway

Or sow the lovely lands

And ye gods will know the way