you are right there across a measured space
your voice at call each time i touch the phone
your ready smile the warming of your tone
but what i can't have right now is your face
there's nothing i can do time to erase
and you'd be first to tell me not to moan
but still i miss you right down to the bone
the day's more torpid than a slug's slow pace
each of us has our tasks and has to wait
until the clock has turned and journey's made
our time together's paid in hours apart
and this is just the normal working fate
of those who have to sweat and make the grade
but still the rose is born within each heart

a bit of nature broken off and dried
but what we hear is not the whole sad tale
if we were ever not to let the scale
alarm us were we not so dignified
it would not be so hard to set aside
those things that error and sorrow entail
allow the little ship to set full sail
and watch it leave upon the rising tide
the greener waters of this warming sea
contain no hope for us this winter day
but this is not our land and we must go
to stranger places where the things we'll see
are not imagined yet in work or play
but those are not the words we have to know

it is your absence that triggers alarm
the sudden knowing that you are not there
in that one moment of coming aware
and then i hear your voice and i disarm
it's that one second's fear that causes harm
my mind uncertain coming up for air
your warmth is absent that one thing is clear
and then i hear your laughter and your charm
i look outside and know you're on your way
and still my thought is waking all alone
and hearing you and knowing i'm secure
you are the anchor of my every day
the heart of all that's certain and that's known
my centre and my stronghold firm and sure

native dialect turns into mother tongue
your ear descries only a broken speech
your mind defines this people as a leech
and wants to tell us it will be unsung
our lyre you tell us ever was unstrung
and there is nothing that we have to teach
but our desire has gone far past your reach
and we will not remain forever young
the point is not that caliban's the dog
nor that ariel remains a willing slave
miranda's not that glittering a prize
setebos is not buried under that log
and there are other creatures in the grave
this island is not measured by your eyes

you are the winner and so you must play
regardless of the time and of your mood
the kind of weather and the good accrued
by those who chose the higher course and way
of calmer battle leading you astray
was not our purpose we all came unglued
because our spies and agents would collude
but would not issue a communiqué
this is the proper time to say how much
the things that matter can be set aside
for better judgment and for hope of change
we count as victory one human touch
enough to satisfy even your pride
and to retrieve from darkness all the strange

our only job is to shoulder the oar
take each command and bend when we obey
not even raise our eyes to the display
of all the flags of welcome on the shore
the path of duty always requires more
of humble us than what the posters say
and we don't get much notice in the play
we're just supposed to add some shout and roar
there's so much satisfaction in the task
we're always told by those who say they care
that there's no use in raising one last hand
besides no one would notice if you ask
and you'd waste words upon the empty air
better to wait and act when they command

nothing begins and we may not return
this is no journey to be made in jest
the only thing that's asked is total best
step one inch out of line and you will burn
you get not one cent more than you can earn
and none of you are sure you'll pass the test
there is no time of ease nor any rest
and nothing new for anyone to learn
there are plain truths to tell under this sky
and many folk have learned them to their cost
but not so much is said about the price
each of the passing moments wet or dry
we have to understand is being lost
and all we know will vanish in a trice

those who believe us caught within a trap
are not the only ones who laugh and cry
then tell us to be true to the last lie
while giving us neither a staff or map
your choice is just to avoid the last gap
pick up your feet and roll the final die
let other things delight your waking eye
and other folk can clean up this old crap
this is the fault of those who have not heard
the gospel of the ones who preach out loud
that we are better off upon our knees
just keep our heads down ignore the absurd
and follow the impulses of the crowd
better to do those things that just appease

those who avoid the shallows and the deep
will find themselves with no place left to hide
and with no human partner to confide
nor any memories they'd want to keep
but you and i who choose to make the leap
know how and when to take the proper side
and what we knew before we took the ride
is what we take into the final sleep
just so the answer comes before the choice
you make the dancer enter through the door
and bow to each of those who wait to speak
until such time there is a better voice
to say the words that others will adore
and bring to life the happy and the meek