The Purple Trail 

Yes, you say, one evening’s like another 
Bronze and listless time the shadows fall 
Streets full of soft, indifferent slumber 
That steeps you in the darkness, after all 

But the evening is a distant town 
Where shadows gather in troops of brown 
The moon returns to her lonely books 
And sighs for how words fail 
While the mountain wears a cloud 
With a purple trail… 

Wind tonight that whistles through the tree limbs 
Vacant sky more vacant on the stream 
Day departs upon her golden phoenix 
And night begins to wake us for the dream. 

And the evening is a distant town 
Where shadows gather in troops of brown 
They hover for another look 
And dusk lets down its veil 
While the mountain wears a cloud 
With a purple trail… 

Willow branches bright with silver monkeys 
Down they dive to try and catch the moon 
So too, lovers fumble with their longing, 
And drown within some darker afternoon. 

And the evening is a distant town 
Where shadows gather in troops of brown 
The moon returns to her lonely books 
And sighs for how words fail 
While the mountain wears a cloud 
With a purple trail… 

Still the evening is a distant town 
Where shadows gather in troops of brown 
They hover for another look 
And dusk lets down its veil 
While the mountain wears a cloud 
With a purple trail…