Feathers

Feathers

Feathers

I wanted so to wish you well
On that road out into the dust
Where the wildflowers defy the rusty soil
And pose in peppered crescendi

And I wanted so to gather you up close
On our side of the line
But I know there has been gathering an old, insistent song
In that band between land and the sky

We held you - don't you know - we held you
Like the finest spider mesh
Around a suffering of sparrows
Still the feathers linger

There's a marker way out there
When the haze begins to clear
I've heard it said that you'll know it
By the changing of the birds

And the sea will roar promises
That the land could never keep
And draw around you like a curtain fallen
Before the show begins

We held you - don't you know - we held you
Like the finest spider mesh
Around a suffering of sparrows
Still the feathers linger

Alternate versions:

Still the Feathers