the darkness who knows

my loved one walks a distant city
she is entranced with city life
the silly shallow beat of city songs
she walks home alone at night
heels clicking past suburban lawns
she pauses to unlock her door
and feels the wind and pauses once more
a beautiful woman in city clothes
the darkness who knows

my friend soldiers with a ready smile
in lands of fire lands of ice
where people love a soldier boy
he's set his star he's built his life
he's danced a jig to the marching tune
now he patrols lebanon
and feels the evening gloom draw on
he will not fall to daylight foes
the darkness who knows

i am alone in my room
i toy with memories in the silence
themes of the embittered past
tortured dreams violence
upon the living and upon the dead
dreams that know no sense
the dying demand recompense
alone my pain grows
the darkness who knows

********
(1980's)