Lifeboat

Lifeboat

When I boarded that boat I was traveling far

To a nameless destination determined by the stars

But the ship sprung a leak and no one even noticed

Until it was too late to repair the damage

And on a bright summer day I abandoned ship,

But the sun wouldn't let me cry.

I took what was left of my life that day

Only take what you need I heard them say

But how to decide what's to go and what's to stay?

Still the sun wouldn't let me cry.

You can't take much, yet there's so much you can take

I stood on the deck with my back to the wake

And filled my pack for sanity's sake

With all the best things I could find.

I took a pound of flesh, and a length of wit

I grabbed a cash of faith, and buried it

So deep down in my pockets with the lint and the dust

They'd never see the light of the day -

And I remembered an old warning a friend gave to me

When driving in the desert young and carelessly

Be careful out there that you don't break down, you see -

'Cause you're bound to get burned by the sun.

So I shielded myself in unyielding resolution

I thought that it would be enough to keep my constitution

From drying in the sun and blistering on the surface,

But I never was the type that could tan. 

But my eyes crusted over, so I could scarcely see

My lips were parched so I could barely speak

My dreams, they shriveled right in front of me

Still the sun wouldn't let me cry. 

Now I've been in this lifeboat for what seems like years

And what is the use in shedding useless tears?

My fate to the gods

And my face to the sky

Still the sun won't let me cry.

~Darkling Plain, Sept. 1, 2006