Ghost River

Time goes by, we cut off our hackamores
Breaking horses for running whiskey
Making merry with the promises
To live wild in our own hearts forever
To marry others, or damn our fathers
And burn brands until they scar
By the fire in man’s soul

And with that fire, warm our hands
So that we may give them to those
Who will soon forget
But they all will be buried, every one
And you will forgive them

Time goes by and we will feel safe too soon
Felling trees for building altars
Where we marry and make promises
To betray our wild hearts for each other
To bury brothers, or forgive our sons
And to make a crystal swan
Of the ice in man’s soul

And with that ice, to go to war
For possessions we’ll plunder
And soon forget
But we all are forgiven, every one
When they bury us