I looked at the clock and it is way past sleep
The ghosts are gathering outside my door
Patterns of rain across the window panes
While the shadows dance on the floors
Away in the distance I can see city lights
I have seen them shine from above and below
A yellow dome that covers the metropolis
Makes me wonder about people I don’t know.
Lovers embrace in the darkness of doorways
Cats leave their catch and go on the prowl
People of the night sidle down alley ways
And of in the distance I hear a dog howl
A cop whistles a tune while walking his beat
Cars pass by with wipers in perfect time
All nights are the same I only hear rain
As the clock tick tocks to his song.
The tune he is whistling is Lili Marlene
It is the time of the demons and doubt
They come in their hordes when eyes close
Tearing at my flesh invading my space
While he taunts me with secrets he knows.
Faint scratching, terror within and without,
Heart thumping the blood through my veins
Fear reaches up through the floorboards
As the song melts away yet remains.
The city mocks me with it’s laughter
When did I last laugh with ease
There once was a time for pleasure
It is now lost in the tendrils of disease.
I will arise and go there
Go before the dawn is in the sky
The darkness will hide me from loved ones
A letter will suffice for goodbye
If you should come in search of me
Journey to the west of the isle
Look for the Mountain where he prayed
Follow the river for a few miles
There in a cottage beneath the mountain
You will find me within sight of the sea
It is the place where I am happiest
Where my forefathers fought to be free
Two brothers lie in the graveyard
Their stone worn smooth by the rain.
Once more we will find some peace
And I will be allowed to be me, once again.
I know where all the flowers have gone.