Farther On

In my early years I hid my tears

And passed my days alone

Adrift on an ocean of loneliness

My dreams like nets were thrown

To catch the love that I'd heard of

In books and films and songs

Now there's a world of illusion and fantasy

In the place where the real world belongs

Still I look for the beauty in songs

To fill my head and lead me on

Though my dreams have come up torn and empty

As many times as love has come and gone

To those gentle ones my memory runs

To the laughter we shared at the meals

I filled their kitchens and living rooms

With my schemes and my broken wheels

It was never clear how far or near

The gates to my citadel lay

They were cutting from stone some dreams of their own

But they listened to mine anyway

I'm not sure what I'm trying to say

It could be I've lost my way

Though I keep a watch over the distance

Heaven's no closer than it was yesterday

And the angels are older

They know not to wait up for the Sun

They look over my shoulder

At the maps and the drawings of the journey I've begun

Now the distance leads me farther on

Though the reasons I once had are gone

I keep thinking I'll find what I'm looking for

In the sand beneath the dawn

But the angels are older

They can see that the Sun's setting fast

They look over my shoulder

At the vision of paradise contained in the light of the past

And they lay down behind me

To sleep beside the road till the morning has come

Where they know they will find me

With my maps and my faith in the distance

Moving farther on