The Shared Ground ～Footprints on the Open Earth～

Open up the timber gates, let the earth awake! Hey! Ho! 　 Fog hangs heavy on the railway platform, Cold morning dew clings to leather boots. Ink is dry upon this folded paper, Wheels begin to turn on rusted roots. Step into the foreign mist, A city opens like a fist. 　 Metal shutters rattling in the market square, Crushed cardamom and roasting beans fill up the air. A baker slides the crust across the wooden stand, No shared tongue, just a warm loaf in a traveler’s hand! 　 Open up the heavy gates, break the roasted bread, Footsteps ring upon the stone where wanderers have tread! ¡Hola! Hear the voices ring! Jambo! Let the asphalt sing! No lines drawn across the soil, only welcoming hands, Golden dust is rising high across the borderlands! 　 　 Dusty curtains in a crowded bus aisle, Woven blankets on an old man’s knee. He points a finger past the rugged mountains, Sharing salty almonds from an olive tree. Every river that we cross, Pays the toll for what was lost. 　 Coals are glowing underneath the iron pots, Lanterns hanging where the narrow alley knots. Skin of the drum begins to tighten in the heat, A hundred different sandals tapping to the beat! 　 Strike the clay and kick the soil, raise the earthen jar, Every step we took today has brought the foreign near! Marhaban! Echoes in the street! こんにちは！ Where the oceans meet! Woven silk and copper plates reflecting in the fire, Strangers link their heavy arms and hoist the rhythm higher! 　 　 The fire sinks to amber coals, Night winds blow across the plain. Fold the worn-out paper map, We walked through hunger and through rain. A traveler leaves a coin, a story, and a name, The house that took the stranger in will never be the same. 　 Unlock the final frontier, SHOUT INTO THE MIDNIGHT GALE! Sawubona! Tear away the veil! Karibu! WE WILL NEVER FAIL! From the mountain terraces down to the harbor bay, The feet of all humanity have danced the night away! 　 Hey-a, hey-a, ho! Clear the roads and let them go! Hey-a, hey-a, ho! Welcome to the home we know!