Moonlight pours down without mercy
No matter how many have perished
Between the trees the river rolls on
The river rolls on

There will always be silence
No matter how long
Someone has wept against the side of a house
Bare forearms pressed to the shingles

Everything ends
Even pain, even sorrow
The swans drift on
Reeds bear the weight
Of their feathery heads
Pebbles grow smaller
Smoother beneath night's rough currents
We walk long distances
Carting our bags, our packages
Burdens or gifts

We know the land is disappearing beneath the sea
Islands swallowed like prehistoric fish
We know we are doomed, done for, damned
And still the light reaches us
Falls on our shoulders even now
Even here where the Moon is hidden from us
Even though the stars are so far away
Even though the stars are so far away