In His Place

I was born to wander these hills alone Never meant to matter, never truly known Then a branch caught my horn and would not yield Right at the center of the sacred field I stood in his place when the knife was raised No one remembers, though heaven was praised This is the price no one wants to name In his place, I disappeared just the same The boy lay still, not a word, not a sound Waiting for what his father had found Then a voice broke through, and the blade stopped its fall And every eye turned to the thicket wall Some get a pillar, I got half a line No mark was ever carved to prove I'd been They named the mountain, gave the place a sign But not to the one who bled and went unseen The smoke rose up to say that I was chosen The only proof that I was ever there By morning even ash was frozen Lost to wind, and grass, and open air I stood in his place when the knife was raised No one remembers, though heaven was praised This is the price no one wants to name In his place, and no one knows my name In his place I was never here