Sandstone glimmers in wine-stained light,
The great canyons stretch far and wide
Beautiful in eternity
There are different sizes of infinity
The skies are turning shades of red,
Fading to pink and gold
Turning into night

They say the deserts are vast and wide,
Dunes uncountable, every gain a world
The shattered plain stretch on -
A reminder of what's gone
Dragonhome, pillar strong
The tower of Babel made again

Even now the redstone curves,
Windy paths and twisted nerves
Dawn comes again with shades of red
The circle comes again,
A sentinel stands in waves of sand

It's a different face but -
Your smile still holds
The same crooked shape.
Jagged teeth in a wicked grin
Bold lines of shadow
Belly barred in warning

I wonder what the sunset says -
With ****** teeth and shining eyes
A prophet speaker that no truth brings
You whisper of impossible things
Like the ghosts that haunt us still

Beneath the slow drifting sands,
Creatures lurk, creatures spin
Beware those on moonlight nights
With crooked grins
And red stained hands
Ask them not for directions

Left to rust and rot,
The crimson red begins to fade
Sink, deep into the ground
Let the forest drink
Grow strong and wild
Rage against the dark

Stained glass wings,
Hear the whippoorwill sing
How sharp the teeth?
Who screamed the scream?
Left in the woods somewhere
In the deep, dark woods

How quick does the red tide grow
Whittle the leaves, sever the branches
Light the fires at night
Can you hear the birds singing?
In the blood red wood

Darkness
The deep green of an old growth forest
Of climbing vines, reaching branches
Creatures lurking in the bushes
Unseen eyes prying
The soft tread of mysterious feet

This forest is ancient dark, and deep
Ageless, unknowable
You are a trespasser here
Young, small
Like this forest once was

The shift of something behind the leaves,
The dance of a fairy's wings
Dappled sunshine in a patch of woods
Dust motes float as creatures move
Eyes ever watchful

Where does the red fern grow?
Where hearts bleed into the deep, deep earth?
An old dog lying on a new gravestone
Red forest, new growth
Nature's sunscreen

Something dies - so another begins
Layers of life upon death
Decay is the way of all things
Of all things
Wildfires come, burning bright
Burning red in the dead of night
Seedpods open in the blaze

Something dies and the forest feasts
Something becomes a part of something so much bigger
A forest is built on layers of decay
Old growth and new
Life and death, hand in hand
Where does the red fern grow? Where does the red fern grow?

Creamy beige,
Dusty ancient pages
Filled with the marks of ages
The wisdom of sages,
Tales of all the far off places

The smell of an old book,
Titles worth a second or third look
Cozy sunlit nooks
Where the words can sink their hooks

Rolled scrolls line the walls
Telling of heroes and their falls
So many lives have dwelled within these halls
And I've come to know them all

There's a small boat on a big ocean
Emerald seas and faded pink sails
Where have you gone? Why have you failed?
Who tells the tales of the travels failed?
The bleached bones on decks
Albatrosses hung around necks

There's a certain bravery in beginning
They once believed Sornieth was flat,
The Thousand Seas falling of the edge of a void
But we still set sail,
Aiming for a shore we might never see

Here's to the mapmakers, the explores
The pirates that braved the seas
Here's to the navigators
The Windsinger's domain
And all the others