I know where I come from
I know where I'll go back in
Between the two is mine to sing
And yours - if you'll carry the two
I know a song you can live off
Tall as stacked mountains
Curved as rivers labor towards sea
I've known singing like a war cry against hunger
And singing like the hunger between rains
Singing like the rain's first silence
Like the silence that teaches breath
And like the breath that keeps pace with walking
I know where I've been coming from
The long way around this world
I know a name or two
For each time of day and night
Each plant gone to seed
And each seed when it falls
I name each step for a leaf on the big tree
I name each breeze for a wave on water I'll never see
I name each child for the ancestor she is
For the one he'll eventually be
Name so the world has a map that fits
Not like a suit - but like a shadow
Lengthening into night
Sharpest when the light is high
Yes - I've sung the map
Fermenting, sweet, in dried up springs
Follow me if you like
You know I'm going back in
At the place where the song gets deep
Into quiet ground
Where the map gets back into dreaming
And if you've sung the song to place of your name
Come on back in with me
Or stay and sing around the cycle
Another world or two