Trembling Hands

Words have no power to impress the mind without the exquisite horror of their reality.

Edgar Allan Poe

Far away, on the whisper of your prayer
Rides a warrior adorned in gray
Near to thee, on a notion of a memory belies
The boastful fires that light our way

I can breathe the air on the highest mountain
I can walk the floor of the deepest sea
I can find us water in the desert
Pour a glass for you and me

I can tame the beasts that surely stalk us
I can pluck the lightning from the sky
I can turn my head and face the darkness
See the reflections in my eyes

Maybe you’re too young to fight these monsters
Maybe you’re too pure to understand
But, surely when we mend the ties that bind us
We should thread with trembling hands

Years before, of the ancient lore we all endured
Soars the mockingbird aloof and sly
The time is now, for us to learn
The why and how of the wraiths
Who traverse the night sky

And I can breathe the air on the highest mountain
I can walk the floor of the deepest sea
I can find us water in the desert
Pour a glass for you and me

And I can tame the beasts that surely stalk us
I can pluck the lightning from the sky
I can turn my head and face the darkness
See the reflections in my eyes

Maybe you’re too young to fight these monsters
Maybe you’re too pure to understand
But, surely when we mend the ties that bind us
We should thread with trembling hands

You know I can be brave
But not like that
Where every uttered word
Can’t be taken back
I hold your heart
In these trembling hands
It’s a gift too precious
For a common man

Lord, steady these trembling hands
Lord, steady these trembling hands
Lord, steady these trembling hands
Lord, steady these trembling hands