Where The Wild River Runs

Long before the danger signs
Way out beyond the border lines
In the passages to heaven’s door
Read the elegies of many more
Across the land and out to sea
A wild river runs
In the broken channels of the night
Tiger, tiger burns so bright
Immortal heart and hand and eye
Beyond the reach of godless skies
Framed in perfect symmetry
Where a wild river runs
In the beating heat of wasted land
There we meet the ferryman
And he’s burning Dante’s Comedy
Robed in all humanity
To guard his crumbling citadels
Where the wild river runs
You see, Odysseus, I’ve claimed
your name
And I’ve drunk the poison from
your veins
I met the Buddha on that dusty road
And I killed him there and I stole
his clothes
‘Cause he was done with all that
fake idolatry
Where the wild rivers run
‘Cause there beneath that olive tree
That migrant man, it’s you and me
And as critics jeer from parapets
Like packs of wolves,
those hypocrites
Are all camouflaged in their
filthy politics
Where the wild river runs
Hidden in that Trojan Horse
They banished man to drift
off course
And they gave him hope then they
laid a trap
And sank a dagger in his back
And they culled him on the
Ides of March
Where the wild river runs
But with these wings I will aspire
To face my demons in my
darkest hour
And the holy dove will carry me
And perhaps one day the world
will see
That I claimed it in the name of art
To untwist these sinews from
my heart
And to douse the furnace in my brain
Strike the anvil and cut the chains
Just to feel my heart beat again
With trembling hands and trembling
feet, amen!
Let the stars throw down
their spears
And shower heaven with my tears
And I’ll shine out beyond
all border lines
And I’ll cast my songs like satellites
Where land and sky and ocean meet
I’ll place forgiveness at your feet
And there my friend our souls
will meet
Where a wild river runs
But there’s little I can say to you
To explain the pain mankind
goes through
But if you take the reins
and make your luck
You won’t need a guide,
you won’t need a map
Just let the moon eclipse the sun
And let your wild rivers run
And yes you’ll taste the grapes of wrath
And you’ll trek that rack
and ruined path
And pass the pool,
Narcissus drowned
You’ll see his broken mirror on
the ground
But don’t drink that water,
go far beyond
Where the wild river runs
And in that dirty, glitter, leaden robe
Walk across the burning coals
Clutching freedom in your fist
And remember who you loved
and who you’ll miss
And chase those crazy horses
out to sea
Where the wild river runs
‘Cause I know it’s hard to comprehend
The way one day our story ends
To start a babe upon a breast
Until we meet our final test
Where the current’s fast and the
current’s slow
Where the wild rivers go
But if you yearn to feel the rush
Then reach out with an artist’s brush
‘Cause out there somewhere in
this universe
Somewhere your soul
and spirit traverse
Beyond the endless stars
and galaxies
Where the wild river runs
And long before the danger signs
Way out beyond the border lines
In the passages to heaven’s door
Read the elegies of many more
Across the land and out to sea
A wild river runs
A wild river runs
A wild river runs