There Was a Man

There was a man came to our town
He wore a suit of red
He memorized with secret eyes
That he hid away in his head

He had a scar upon his head
Where there used to be a crown
But he sold his robes at the five and ten
And lived on the edge of town

That fall he showed us a magic leaf
That he could change to snow
He bought it partly with his grief
And partly with his soul

He scattered seeds in the alley way
He never seemed to rest
And when you went to ask him why
All he ever said was yes

He made a swan from waving grass
Beside a crystal shore
And a sunrise spun from broken glass
And many things wondrous more

But then his hands began to burn
When he heard the news from the war
When we cannot find each other he said
Then we can't run away any more

Next day with tears along his face
He passed us on the hill
No one thought to ask him to stay
And he knows that we never will

There was a man came to our town
He wore a suit of red
He memorized with secret eyes
That he hid away in his head