Hollow Branches - Seasons

I was born where the leaves fell first Where the black earth swallowed every name Among broken antlers, moss-covered stones And roots that never asked for praise The old trees taught me nothing lasts The mushrooms rose where giants lay Every ending fed another mouth Every grave gave something away I learned that long before I knew myself The soil kept speaking When nobody else would Rot in my bones Hollow in my chest An echo on the wind Searching for the rest I carry what is gone I listen for what stays A voice inside the silence Calling through the haze Rot in my spirit Hollow in my heart An echo in the world Trying to find its part Inside there’s an empty room A lantern burning low and gold Not broken, not abandoned Just waiting for footsteps Waiting for stories Waiting for souls willing to stay The hollow isn’t loneliness It’s space Space for memory Space for wonder Space for ghosts that never learned to leave And every quiet thing Leaves a fingerprint Rot in my bones Hollow in my chest An echo on the wind Searching for the rest I carry what is gone I listen for what stays A voice inside the silence Calling through the haze Rot in my spirit Hollow in my heart An echo in the world Trying to find its part I hear the river remembering rain I hear the mountain remembering fire I hear old laughter trapped in empty houses I hear my own footsteps Returning from years ago Nothing truly leaves It only changes distance And I have spent my life listening The dead leaves feed the roots The roots feed the branches The branches catch the light The light becomes memory The memory becomes song The song becomes echo Rot in my bones Rot in my soul The turning wheel The cycle whole Hollow in my heart Wide as the night Keeping a place For whatever finds the light And out beyond the trees My voice returns to me An echo Still carrying the forest Long after I leave.