pencil ...
i've bought you this pencil
yes, it's brand new
i've only sharpened the tip
so that you might write
a little something
if you have a yen to write
or maybe you will draw
a picture and shade in
the shadows that follow us
from time to time
or if nothing else
perhaps you'll draw a line
that sketches a blueprint
of your past
a graphite map
of your happy times
and if you're so inclined
go ahead and
add some of the heartaches
you've shared with
uncertain ghosts
now long gone
but know this
that whatever you put to paper
eventually your pencil
will run short
and you will be forced
to call an end to
all your scribbling
oh no ...
each of us gets
but one pencil
with which to trace
what we were once
and what we are today
just one
just one
and when it is done
then, yes ...
the line trails off
the crowded page
crumbles in a twist of wood
and runs blank
not just for today
but for good
yes, it's brand new
i've only sharpened the tip
so that you might write
a little something
if you have a yen to write
or maybe you will draw
a picture and shade in
the shadows that follow us
from time to time
or if nothing else
perhaps you'll draw a line
that sketches a blueprint
of your past
a graphite map
of your happy times
and if you're so inclined
go ahead and
add some of the heartaches
you've shared with
uncertain ghosts
now long gone
but know this
that whatever you put to paper
eventually your pencil
will run short
and you will be forced
to call an end to
all your scribbling
oh no ...
each of us gets
but one pencil
with which to trace
what we were once
and what we are today
just one
just one
and when it is done
then, yes ...
the line trails off
the crowded page
crumbles in a twist of wood
and runs blank
not just for today
but for good
