In The End

(I Have A Friend)

I have a friend who has no eyes,

I have a friend who tells no lies.

A steady weight beside my side,

A rooted pulse that never dies.

It moves where bitter water glides,

A patient shape that never hides.

I have a friend...

I have a friend...

A marrow-deep, unyielding tether,

Holding cold and quiet together.

No debt to pay, no debt to mend,

I have a friend until the end.

I have a friend carved in the stone,

Who walks the salt and dry-well bone.

It does not sleep, it does not weep,

It keeps the secrets shadows keep.

It wears the rust, it waits in dust,

Where iron gives and timbers bust.

I have a friend...

I have a friend...

A marrow-deep, unyielding tether,

Holding cold and quiet together.

No debt to pay, no debt to mend,

I have a friend until the end.

When water burns and timber bends,

When every road of iron ends—

No spoken name, no shifting face,

Just heavy breath and empty space.

Older than fear, slower than death,

Past every coin the living spent,

A silence rooted in the ground,

Where nothing breaks, and nothing's found.

I have a friend who keeps the night,

Who needs no breath, who asks no light.

A marrow-deep, unyielding tether,

Holding cold and quiet together.

No debt to pay, no debt to mend,

I have a friend until the end.

I have a friend...

I have a friend...

The only shadow left to bend.

The quiet waiting...

In the end.