I was walking through a blasted grove
Of figs and berries burnt to ash
This land once full of green and growth
Now brought that memory down to crash.
And in that land of blackened pillars
That seemed a Hades temple cold
I saw a flash of white above me
Too bright for prematurely old
Eyes that squint against the gleaming
Inside a world that has gone grey
Oft miss a beacon’s guiding
When from the path their feet do stray.
And here despite my squinting wonder
I saw alight upon a tree
A dove as bright as morning’s splendour
And brighter still than memories.
And there I froze awake in awe
To see so near such beauty live.
Why his pause and hesitation
Where life so long had ceased to give
Its hope and splendour at its being
It seems now just a heavy weight
But yet that bird came down alighting
As if defying seems of fate.
And here he stays nearby beside me
Though he seems so out of place
He should for every ’visioned reason
Take flight from this our burning race
Perhaps because he came to meet me
In this unholy blasted waste
He may remain right here beside me
To guide me to a better place.
(Ne me quitte pas)
You’re all the hope that I could find.
(Ne me quitte pas)
Without you I’ll just wander blind.
