The keeper watches from the hill
Where lantern light burns cold and still
A child's craft comes apart slow
On marble steps beneath the snow
Paper wings come undone here
On cold stone the date draws near
Snow falls quiet no wind to blame
Just the temple and the plane
He knows the language of the rope
The knot that holds the heavy scope
But paper folds don't know the tide
They yield to frost on mountain side
Paper wings come undone here
On cold stone the date draws near
Snow falls quiet no wind to blame
Just the temple and the plane
The cello weeps a low drone note
Like fog horns from a phantom hull
The banjo claws the frozen air
Unraveling thread by thread laid bare
Paper wings come undone here
On cold stone the date draws near
Snow falls quiet no wind to blame
Just the temple and the plane
No beacon sweeps this ridge of stone
Just hollows where the wind has blown
The airplane yields its final crease
And surrenders to the ancient peace
Child's fingers numb breath clouds the sky
No lighthouse beam to guide the fly
But in the fold a secret kept
The mountain dreams while temple slept
Dawn breaks pale on frozen stair
The paper's gone no trace just air
The keeper nods turns back to sea
Where storms make sense to such as he
Paper wings come undone here
On cold stone the date draws near
Snow falls quiet no wind to blame
Just the temple and the plane
Snow covers what the child has flown
Paper wings on stone alone
