Time Away

West of the valley you left
Guided by stars and the wind
Led by a volley of birds
You reach home with nothing
Each moment sleeps, left behind
The last person who saw you was kind
She said, “look to your flesh you seem cold
Take me before we get old”
The dreams that you had are forgotten
A diary left under a bed
And the light slanted in from the curtains
All the things written in there are dead
Approaching the last moments pass
And next comes the place you began
Your face is a dark map of worries
But you smile as you start to run
Drop your pack, drop your dial
And just fall for a while
And when you hit dirt you feel nothing
Sweep the floor now and take down the curtain
Let the light flood into the house
Open the doors, let the wind blow
Let all those dead hours stumble out
Watch as they run towards the sea
Until they diminish to nothing
Make your way up to the bedroom
Let the pillow collapse round your head
Sing the lullaby about when we were living
And sing the one about when we’ll be dead
Sleep a sleep without dreams for ten hours
And wake up as heavy as lead
And all of what weight is nothing