The Way Things Are

In the beginning there was dust

And we rose from the dust like ants

We found old houses in old little towns

We built new houses to shield the old,

We played in the dust; with the dust

We made friends from the friends of our parents

And enemies from the enemies of our parents.

The world around us changed

And yet remained unchanged.

As we grew older

People died and others came;

The towns are still unchanged.

 

Let the sun shine on weary faces

Of working men and pregnant wives

Let the sun shine on faces

Of children in the dust and children on the desks.

Let the sun shine shining

On eyes of lazy cats

And dogs in the garbage

And goats in their sheds

And pigs, in their mess

And the flowers in the church.

Let the sun shine shining

On spinning dolphins far away

Let, let the sun shine shining

On town folks that never knew

Or heard the name Michelangelo

Let, let the sun shine shining.

 

There is a huge oak tree

(maybe it's not an oak after all)

In the middle of a field

Where I ran a marathon race once

With friends from early school

The shade was a comfort from the sun

The wind always started there

In the branches of an oak

(that might not be an oak after all)

Dried logs sometimes fell

From the odd oak, perhaps

And the wind blew on

Felling logs and rising dust

Into our eyes.