[Male vocal] [Instrumental intro: forest birds, heavy footsteps on tabla, bansuri] [Verse 1] Bhima walked the mountain forest Strongest of the brothers five Sent to find a fragrant flower For the one he'd keep alive Trees fell back before his shoulders Rivers parted at his stride Nothing in the world could stop him Nothing dared to stand aside [Verse 2] Till across the narrow pathway In the shade of plantain leaves Lay an old and tired monkey Breathing slowly through the breeze And his tail lay on the pathway Thin and grey and old and worn "Move aside," said mighty Bhima "I've a flower to bring by morn" [Verse 3] "I'm too old," the monkey murmured "Step across me, if you must" But a being on your pathway Is not stone and is not dust So said Bhima, "I won't step on you There's a spirit in your breath" "Then lift my tail," the old one smiled "And put it to the left" [Chorus] [Low male chorus joins, heavy stride] POOCH-chum CHAA-luh-yuh Move the tail, the old one said One hand, two hands, all his might And the tail stayed where it led POOCH-chum CHAA-luh-yuh Sweat upon the strongest brow And the thing he thought was weakest Wouldn't move for Bhima now [Pre-Chorus] [Music softens] So he bowed his head in wonder And he asked, not told, at last [Verse 4] "Who are you?" — and the old one rose Grew as tall as the forest's crown "I'm your brother, son of the wind I'm the one who crossed the ocean down" And he held the proud one close As the forest trembled round Two sons of one great breath On the same forest ground [Verse 5] [Drums swell] "There's a war ahead of you, brother On a field of dust and flame When your brother's chariot rises I'll be there upon its frame On his banner I will sit And when you raise your battle cry I will add my voice to yours Till it fills the whole wide sky" [The Prophecy] [Spoken, elder, slow, drone and leaves] Bhima's strength did not fail him. His habit did. He spoke to the old one the way the strong speak: move. The path opened only when he asked: who are you? To the strong, I say: the slow, small thing lying in your path may be older than you, and stronger than you, and placed there to teach you. Ask before you push. And when you bow, you may find not an obstacle, but a brother. [Final Chorus] [Low male chorus, warm, full] POOCH-chum CHAA-luh-yuh Move the tail, the old one said Strength could never move it But a question moved it instead POOCH-chum CHAA-luh-yuh Bow your head and ask its name And the thing that blocked your road Walks beside you all the same [Kokopelli Whisper] [Whispered, birds and wind] Ask its name before you move it.
