As we entered the age
of the blue and the grey
the spark of a nation and its final day
I was among
the last to enlist
and walk like a soldier in this war, this squabble
This waste of my country, my brothers hereafter
My fields and my cities, my family and home
a man and his roots could be quickly reduced
to discarded ruins of muscle and bone

Three weeks of marching
brought me to the crest
of a hill in Virginia’s west wilderness
As a company cook
I had no call to fight
I kept my hands clean and I slept at night
With my ideals intact, antiseptic, untainted
That halo on me shone as bright as the sun
of the whole company
God smiled on me’
with no need to choose ‘tween the cross and the gun

See, there was a time
when I dressed in black
shouting the gospel in an old dirt-floor shack
Fulfilling my mission
to trumpet the word
saving the cattle that strayed from the herd
With my books and my crosses and ivory satin
My brimstone and devils and fierce lake of fire
one demon’s grave
for each soul I saved
they’d ride up to heaven
on the voice of the choir

The fog burned off by noon that day
And I was looking for some shade
I strayed a bit from the march
Looking for a place to pray
When I met the eyes of a fellow pilgrim
Who seemed to be misplaced
He looked in need of a decent meal
And there was worry on his face
His shirt was torn, his chest laid bear
With a wound across his side
He slouched upon his withered horse
Without the strength to ride
I reached deep into my pack
For a bandage or a cure
But instead I took my pistol
When I saw the color of his shirt
Me in my blue and him in his grey
We made a mortal pair
And I could’ve shot him easy
But I didn’t dare
See, the Creator, He was watching me
With His big, unblinking eye
I heard Him in the trees
And I saw Him in the sky
I felt Him in the air around me
In the breeze and in the ground
I heard no words, but his voice was clear
So I put my pistol down

And we stood there
just a hundred feet apart
Chamberlain gave us orders
but God gave us a heart

The seasons flow quickly
when we live in peace
time soars on by like a bird on the breeze
And I’d soon forgotten
about that crucial day
me in my blue and him in his grey
And in time I returned to my sisters,
my brother
My fields and my cities, my family and home
I had plans to build
a new church on the hill
and I could have me a flock of my own

In the draw of a breath
I was thirty, then forty
then fifty and sixty
‘til I thought to exhale
When I looked around
I was grey, obsolescent
and my old church was run down in every detail
So I hired a young man
From the town across the river
to seal up the drafts
and patch up the leaks
His father came too, and that was the crew
They’d finish the job in a couple of weeks

This father and son
seemed to be the same person
Distinguished by twenty-five years
maybe more
The young man’s appearance
was oddly familiar
But I couldn’t recall
when I’d seen him before

The roof needing fixing
And I rolled up my sleeves
I’ve always been willing
to work if I’m able
I helped with the shingles
And carried some water
To the old man perched
at the end of the gable
But when I reached out
To offer a drink
My feet lost their place
and I started to skid
I felt a strong hand
Grab ahold of my collar
But I slipped from his grasp
and downward I slid
I fell through the air
Like a leaf from the willow
Spinning and tumbling
soft as snowfall
And I don’t remember
How I hit the ground
I watched it approaching
and that was all

Then Dreamland
Floating out to sea
Gliding through a hallway
Filled with sketches of my life
Dreamland
A flipbook of my days
Childhood, my old school
The army and my wife
Dreamland
Inventions and truth
I built a church
then fell off the roof

I took a breath
I opened my eyes
But all I could see
before me was blue
It was my indigo shirt
Fallen over my face
I was hoping for heaven
when I came to
Then the shirt fell away
And the scenery changed
Now all I could see
before me was grey
It was the canvas apron
The old man had worn
And I knew it was still
tied ‘round his waist

Then Dreamland
I was floating out of me
Rising from the ground
As if I was steam
Dreamland
People gathering
And searching for signs of life
From the old man and me
Dreamland
I could see the details
Our bodies, our faces,.
the shingles, the nails

And I studied the old man
from up near my gable
Me in my blue
and him in his grey
And when they brushed off the dirt
and lifted his shirt
The scar on his side
was as clear as the day

And we laid there
Just a couple feet apart
We all have our orders
but God gave us a heart

Did I take a wrong turn
or get in the wrong line
I’ve been lost and wandering
for such a long time
Did I choose the wrong door
or misread a sign
and here I am now
where I don’t recognize
Any faces or spaces
or people I know here
No place is familiar
ain’t been here before
I was promised a seat
at heaven’s big table
But I can’t find a map
that will show me the door
So I’ll come down again
and try something different
Though I’m not quite sure
what I could’ve done wrong
I’ll reread the Book
and I’ll live to the letter
And I’ll sit at that table
where I belong