This Year and All the Years to Come

I tried to hold it all together
The future you deserved
I gripped the soil with my fingers
Dug furrows in the earth
I knelt and watched the pillars crumble
I was there when the walls fell
I hope you know that I thought of you
I hope you remember me well

And for this year, and all the years to come
For all I did, and all I left undone
For how we tried, as if trying was enough
Forgive me for the weakness in your blood
As January closes like a tomb
As long as I am able, I will carry you

I tried to shelter you in silence
I was the tightly fitted door
I was the cloth over the windows
To keep you safe, to keep you warm
I placed my words like they could bolster
I nailed sentences like boards
But when the barricades were broken
I knew what they were truly worth

And for this year, and all the years to come
For all I did, and all I left undone
For how we tried, as if trying was enough
Forgive me for the weakness in your blood
As January closes like a tomb
As long as I am able, I will carry you

When they stain the sky, we will be watching
When the roots give way, we will be watching
When the waves have dried, we'll wave our goodbyes
When the creatures die, we'll read their last rites
When they stain the sky, we will be watching
When the roots give way, we will be watching (we will)
When the fires have died down to embers
When all that's left to do is to remember
We will remember
We will remember

And for this year, and all the years to come
For all I did, and all I left undone
For how we tried, as if trying was enough
Forgive me for the weakness in your blood
As January closes like a tomb
The first chapter of a story read too soon
As long as I am able, I will carry you