Look me in the eyes
Or do you dare?
Are my colors brighter
than you can bear?
Or is my story darker
than you will own?
For you are each a thread
with which I’m sewn
Don’t I have a voice
to tell my tale?
Give me but a breeze
and let me sail!
I have been the watcher
of men and kings
Would you crush my soul
and clip my wings?
I am born of blood
and cloud and sky
Battle rage and smoke
has seared my eyes
But I am born of you
your own hearts’ rage
Would you lock yourself
within a cage?
I have felt my heart throb
from glory and pain
I am stretched in caverns
where my sons are lain
I’ve been ripped by steel
and torn by lead
Would you rob a blanket
from off the dead?
I am your own mirror
for good or ill
I reflect your faces
and your free will
I reveal the whole of you
both love and hate
Condemning me must bind you
to share my fate