Matchstick Girl

Silent empty streets
Forsaken to the cold
Moonlit, her shadow, like ink upon the snow
Barefoot, she shivers
With nowhere else to go
"Matches, matches here for sale"

And on this drifting course through time
Beneath the limitless sublime
Her heart beats lonely and afraid
Phantom faces at her side
In their anguish cannot hide
The beauty and the frailty of life

In desperation, she strikes a match
Her fingers burn with fire and ash
Escape the hard, imperfect world
Her eyes light up -- the matchstick girl
Perception clashes, voices sing
Like angels from a secret dream
And then, as quickly as it came
It fades into the cold
Back into the cold

The delicate and empty stars
Whisper light without remorse
And every shadow growing brave
To stand below the morn
A vision captures just the smile
And lingers on her lips a while
Before fading into the darkness
A stranger past unknown

And on this drifting course through time
Beneath the limitless sublime
Everyone who ever was will die
(Everybody dies)
After all the moments live
Whether too naive to give
The mercy one must grant, if he should find

In desperation she strikes a match
Fingers ablaze with fire and ash
Escape the hard, imperfect world
Her eyes light up -- the matchstick girl
Perception clashes, voices sing
Angels embrace her in their wings
And then as quickly as it came
It fades into the cold

She strikes another, here again
A nova burns, a hero's flame
Against the hard, imperfect world
Her eyes light up -- the matchstick girl
And like the rivers of belief
A storybook, however brief
And then as quickly as it came
It fades into the cold
Back into the cold

Silent prayer, please God protect
The fingers stiffened by neglect
What she remembered, what man forgets
And for her suffering, heaven wept

In desperation she strikes the pack
Fingers alight with fire and ash
Warmth redeems a fading world
Her eyes light up -- the matchstick girl
Heaven breaks, and voices sing
Like angels in her secret dreams
And nothing here will ever touch
Nor harm this little girl

And in the alley, looking back
Fingers cold, now stained and black
The warmth departs a fading world
Her eyelids close -- the matchstick girl
The line breaks free this cruel space
A knowing smile upon her face
It stayed until the morning light
Frozen in the snow
The matchstick girl was home
The matchstick girl was home