Where the Wind Keeps the Names

I saw a paper boat at dawn Drifting where the tide had gone, No flag to wave, no hand to steer, Just morning mist and borrowed years. Along theharbor's rusted frame Someone whispered out a name, And every gull above the bay Carried half the word away. Tell me, where do the lost ones go When the rivers forget to flow? How many stories fade unseen Between the shoreline and the dream? The windwon't answer, it only sings, Through broken doors and wedding rings. The truth, my friend, may never stay, It passes like the light of day. I walked beneath the city wires, Past vacant lots and barrel fires. A child drew stars upon the dust, As if the sky still could be trusted. The evening bells began to cry, Their echoes crossing miles of sky. And every shadow on the wall Looked like someone waiting for a call. Tell me, where do the lost ones go When the rivers forget to flow? How many stories fade unseen Between the shoreline and the dream? The windwon't answer, it only sings, Through broken doors and wedding rings. The truth, my friend, may never stay, It passes like the light of day. Perhaps the world is just a flame, Burning softly without a name. And all we leave when we are gone Is a song for others to carry on. The moon hung low above the plain, Silver threads across the grain. I thought I heard a distant choir Rise like smoke from an unseen fire. And though the night concealed the road, Still I carried hope like gold. For every question cast away Returns upon another day. Tell me, where do the lost ones go When the rivers forget to flow? How many stories wait to be found Beneath the silence of the ground? The wind keeps secrets, year by year, Yet somehow leaves its music here. And every heart that dares remain Becomes another voice in the rain. The wind keeps the names, The rain keeps the sound. The sea keeps the stories That never were found.