Beggar at Every Height

Beggar at Every Height Verse 1 I stood where mountains swallowed up the sky, Their shoulders wrapped in clouds of white, And wondered how much stone was buried deep Beneath the beauty in my sight. Layer upon layer, the mountain rose, Like all the lives we're trying to climb— From bread and shelter at the broken ground To dreams that live above the clouds of time. Pre-Chorus I wiped one tear and told my restless mind, Not every sorrow has to follow me. Then at the gate where the climbing road began, An old man held his hand out silently. Chorus There was a beggar at every height, A different hunger in every eye. One asked for bread beneath the trees, One asked for hope beneath the sky. And I kept climbing, wondering why Need followed footsteps toward the light— If I ever reach the highest cloud, Will there be a beggar at that height? Verse 2 I gave some coins and carried on, The valley slowly disappeared. But at the edge of every changing world, Another open hand appeared. The air grew thin, the view grew wide, The earth looked peaceful from above, Yet something whispered: poverty can change— Some beg for money, some for love. Chorus There was a beggar at every height, A different hunger in every eye. One asked for bread beneath the trees, One asked for hope beneath the sky. And I kept climbing, wondering why Need followed footsteps toward the light— If I ever reach the highest cloud, Will there be a beggar at that height? Bridge Maybe the rich man begs for sleep, Maybe the strong man begs for peace, Maybe the one who owns the world Still begs for something he can't keep. Maybe we're mountains walking around, Showing only what meets the light— While two-thirds of every human heart Lie hidden underneath the night. Final Chorus So there are beggars at every height, Though not every hand is raised to the sky. Some hunger loudly in the streets, Some wear fine clothes and hunger inside. And if one day I reach the peak Where earth dissolves in endless white, I may find no beggar waiting there— Because the beggar might be I. Outro The mountain never answered me. The clouds just opened to the light.