The Boy

The boy sits in a field, tall grass above his head,
and he's thinking of the path that his ancestors did tread
And as he's dreaming of the future a mist does descend,
and he wonders if this is the beginning or this is the end

And out of the mist a tall creature does appear,
his eyes wide and friendly, his face is full of years
He says, "We're going on a journey in my hot air balloon,
and the time is now so we must get going soon"

And they flew over the houses and the streets they used to know,
over trains going fast and people going slow
There was snow on the mountains and boats on the sea,
and there were lovers in the forest carving their names into a tree

And the boy says, "Where are we going? Where are we going to?
I'm scared of the future and I'm mildly scared of you"
The creature looked down and said, "Don't be scared of the unknown,
we're going to a place in which I have grown"

And with a sudden gush of wind the balloon fell from the sky,
the boy shut his eyes and hoped he wouldn't die
The creature was calm, he had done this before,
so he landed the balloon and he opened the door

The boy walked out and he couldn't believe his eyes,
a flock of sheep was floating through the skies
followed by a shepherd going along for the ride
The boy wondered what was going on

So he walked through this land with the creature by his side;
To his left was a painter, painting the tides,
and to his right a pack of wolves did cry
to the rise and fall of the moon

And they entered the forest and the trees they hung low,
everything was dark and nothing there did grow
apart from a single yellow rose
that the boy put in his hair

And out of the forest, the snow it did fall,
the creature held the boy away from the stone
as out from the snow appeared an empty platform,
and they waited patiently for a train

And from far in the distance a train did arrive,
a thousand polar bears were passengers inside
And the creature said to the boy, "Are you ready for the ride?"
And the boy said, "Yes, I think I am"

So they sped through the hills and over mountains they did go,
over old wooden bridges withered from the cold
And the boy stared out of the window
and smiled at all he could see

And they travelled through the desert to the setting sun,
over streams and rivers to where it all begun
And through the wind and the rain until the days were done,
they rode through the land

And all of a sudden the train it did stop,
the creature said to the boy, "This is where we both get off"
And all the polar bears climbed to the top of the train
to wave their goodbyes

Alone they walked through a featureless land,
no blade of grass, no grain of sand
And on the horizon a great sea did stand,
and creature said, "This is where I must go"

And at the water's edge nothing more was said,
the boy looked at the creature, not a single tear was shed
And the creature laid his hand upon the boys head,
and gave him a wink of his eye

And the creature turned around and walked slowly to the sea,
to go to a place where forever he would be
And with one great leap he leapt into sea,
and in the blink of an eye he was gone

The boy stood still, alone now on the shore,
he stared into the distance and hoped there would be more
The yellow rose, it fell to the floor
and drifted away on the wind