Past Lives - Past Lives

I was standing on a beach at an ocean of broken glass

I was building castles from the cinders and the ash

Civilizations come and go

To the sound of a howling hound and a tank foaming at the mouth

I searched the record books, the bibliographies

I traced the crooked lines of strange geography

Counted every speck of dust, every grain of sand

And when all of my work was through I still could not find you

From your mother’s mother to your children’s kids

From the birthmark to the burning witch

I was waiting, watching, turning time

I stared the sight right off my eyes

I’ve seen it all once or maybe twice

I’ve read the scriptures, taken the advice

I’ve asked the prophets, asked the crystal ball

I’ve asked the silhouettes climbing up my wall

From your mother’s mother to your children’s kids

The birthmark to the burning witch

I was waiting, watching, counting time

I stared the sight right off my eyes

All the memories you beg to forget like black coals filling up your head

Throw them in a trashcan light a match

Turn the corner don’t look back