Some Cruel Twist of Fate

the news it arrived
slack-jawed and late
my lover is dead
some cruel twist of fate
the dust will settle
over the grave
my branded heart will never be saved
the rusty dawn lies to my feet
to meet me in a vacant street
where dogs will bite and scratch at my heel
two hundred miles my lips will be sealed
from fetching the shovel
to digging her tomb
our unborn child still lies in the womb
I’ve carried her body across forsaken lands
and laid her in the earth
with my own two hands
the hills before me
and the valleys between
the stars above me and the heavens unseen
the sullen shacks by the side of the trail
I’m broken I’m starving I’m lovesick I’m frail
the path that I follow will turn and will bend
but all will have meaning in the end
to collect her body tender and fair
and run my rough hands through her soft wavy hair
from fetching the shovel
to digging her tomb
our unborn child still lies in the womb
I’ve carried her body across forsaken lands
and laid her in the earth
with my own two hands
gripping the casket
dripping with tears
lowering her down
with my hopes and my dreams
a prayer and a ring go tumbling down
landing softly upon her
another box in the ground
from fetching the shovel
to digging her tomb
our unborn child still lies in the womb
I’ve carried her body across forsaken lands
and laid her in the earth
with my own two hands