Retrospect
Retrospect (Poem)
To drink only water from yesterday's streams,
Is to thirst in the present, and die in one's dreams.
We once swam together; you taught me to swim
But all once-bright waters, o'er time, will grow dim.
And when that time comes, new lands will be found
For unto first waters, once mustn't be bound.
You think I now walk through the Valley of Death
But what, then, is life if one fears his breath?
From past flows the present, and grateful am I,
But a present, once given, cannot be retied.
To take back what was given, and make it now owed
Is to take what was pure and poison it so.
The past holds a power strong then and today
And should The Past ever step in to pull sway -
To wield happy mem'ries as if they were swords,
Or thrust expectation like daggers towards
The olive-branch'd hand that hungers for peace
Then love everlasting shall suddenly cease.
'Tis by your own mind you hunger for things
Ignoring the happiness one's present brings.
The past can't fulfill you; its meat turned to bone
For once you have feasted, that seed has been sown.
What was is no longer; and one must move on
To happiness made, from happiness gone.
- A. J. Darkholme (August 2017)
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Retrospect (Lyrics)
[Intro]
To drink only water from yesterday’s streams…
Is to thirst in the present…
AND DIE IN MY DREAMS!
[Verse 1]
We once swam together, you taught me to swim,
But all once-bright waters, over time, will grow dim.
And when that time comes, new lands will be found,
For unto first waters, one mustn't be bound.
[Pre-Chorus]
You think I now walk through the Valley of Death...
But what then is life, if one fears his breath?
From past flows the present… I’m grateful, it’s true,
...THEN YOU THROW AWAY THE PRESENT I'VE GIVEN TO YOU!
[Chorus]
To take back what was given, and make it now owed,
Is to poison what’s pure, and to bury the soul.
The past is a river, it flows where it may,
But to stay in its current, will take you away.
You can’t live in yesterday.
You can’t live in yesterday!
[Verse 2]
The past holds a power, both then and today,
But if it steps in, to pull, or even betray…
To wield happy memories like swords in the air,
Or thrust expectations like daggers unfair…
[Pre-Chorus]
Then love everlasting will wither and die!
And peace will be shattered by a fractured sigh
I hunger for more, and yet here I stand,
Betrayed by the past, but caught in its hand.
[Chorus]
The past is a river, it flows where it may,
But to stay in its current, will take you away.
You can’t live in yesterday.
You can’t live in yesterday…
[Bridge]
It’s by your own mind, you hunger for things,
Ignoring the joy that the present brings.
The past can't fulfill you, its meat turned to bone,
Once you’ve feasted, the seed has been sown.
[Second Bridge]
What was is no longer…
And one must move on,
To happiness made…
From happiness gone.
[Final Chorus]
The past is a river, it flows where it may,
But to stay in its current, will take you away.
You can’t live in yesterday.
You can’t live in yesterday!
You can’t live in yesterday.
You can’t live in yesterday!
[Outro]
The past can’t fulfill you…
Its meat turned to bone...
But you must move on…
To happiness made…
From happiness gone…