I know a place
Far from this time 
That has gray skies 
Yet never rains 

I know a place 
That has just one city 
Glass windows broken 
Vines and plants smothering 
The gray cement 

I know a place 
Where there are only 
Fallen skyscrapers 
Cracked streets 

I know a place 
Where people are scared 
And huddle in the city 
To threatened to move 
Imagine it 
Mankinds whole population 
In one city 
They are Violent 
Because war reins 

I know a place 
Where gun ships replace 
Rain 
Where bombs replace 
Trees 
Where starvation replaces
Animals i once knew by name 
That are no longer 
Where food is to be fought for 
And sides to be chosen 

Yes I know this place 
I visited it in a dream 
I was on the opposing side 
In this silly game 
A member of their convenient war council 
Yet I do not know what we were called, what we fought for 
I was here in this mourning city 
By accident 
And I saw a boy that I knew 
Flying one of those gunships 
Our eyes locked, and 
Next thing I knew 
I was holding his face in my hands 
Crying, for war was indestructible 
Whispering to him, "I know you" 
And he looked at me with frightened eyes 
And said, "I wish I did" 

Yes, I know a place 
Of despair 
Of toil
Of misguided hatred for our brothers 
Our sisters
Of loss 
Of agony 
Of people so crude, so violent and twisted by fear and loss
Huddled in the Mourning City 
Where even hope isn't among their prized possessions 
Did you know 
That some don't know what the sun is? 

Yes I stay away from that place 
The Mourning City 
I wonder which is really the evil side
And travel down a hill 
Covered in grass 
Shining, lustrous, long blades of it 
Braided together in clumps 
Sand showing between them 
I sit on this hill 
And look out at an ocean 
Reflecting the gray of the sky 
But somehow transforming the gray 
Into the finest silver 
It is an ocean, yes 
But it has no waves to ruffle it 
Even the wind has fled  

 It is the only beautiful place left 
Where grass cranes float in the sky 
It used to be called origami
Borne by a wind made just for them 
I do not make these grass cranes 
Nobody does 
But the grass sitting in clumps on the hillside 
Bends and twists and folds 
Giving up it's life in the ground
To go sailing in the gray sky  
By some miracle offering up true beauty 
If only people would come and see it 

This is the place where I am truly happy 
Joyful to the point of tears 
As a crane floats down to me  
I catch it and hold it gently, this miracle the grass has folded itself into 
It reminds me of the paper cranes I played with as a child 
With a smooth, long, straigt body 
With a long tail sloping up in the back 
Pointed upwards to the sky, it's final destination 
The neck is long and slender 
The head perched atop of the neck furrowed down 
In the greatest majesty 
The wings 
Smooth and unbroken 
Wide pieces of blades melded together 
About the length of my hand 
The end adjoining the body the widest part
And blooms and tapers slowly to a point 
Like the petals in a flower 

It is beautiful and graceful, this grass crane 
I throw it back up in the air 
Watch it soar with it's comrades 
As I lay on my back 
Go to sleep 
And awake in my house 
Clinging to the memory of 
a place where I was  happy 
The place of the Grass Cranes