[Verse 1] Let me tell a story of a valley, verdant, Green and lush and abundant. Down the valley flowed so clear—a stream From which life did flourish, life did teem. [Verse 2] Now in this valley a wall was made; 'Twas built so the stream it dammed, the water it stayed. And long stood the wall, so crude and rough; Poorly built, but seeming sturdy enough. [Verse 3] It was I that built the wall, the water to hold, To save my feet—ever wet, ever cold. So stones I found, stones I gathered, stones I laid; Over many years, a dam I made. [Verse 4] At first, a small wall sufficed to stop the creek, But soon enough, over the top, water began to trickle and leak. So to enlarge the wall I laboured hard, I laboured long, Eventually having before me a dam, imposing and strong. [Verse 5] Then the valley below the dam became dry and torrid; The water that once gave it life had been contained or diverted. In time, what had been green and lush became dry and empty, And I was thirsty. O, how I was thirsty. [Verse 6] My desire for the life-giving water became a desperate aching, So stones I started pulling, the dam I started breaking. Then, to my delight, water came rushing through the hole I'd created. I drank, and it was good. I drank, and I was elated. [Verse 7] Very soon, yes—it was almost immediately, cracks appeared In the dam, around the hole I had cleared. The cracks grew and, by the power of water repressed, the dam was rent; Water flooded through the breach in an unstoppable torrent. [Verse 8] All I can do now is desperately clutch the stones, But I feel my grip weakening.
