[Title] Iron and Light [Verse 1] The papers lay beneath my hand Their corners curled against the cold A lamp burned low beside the maps The brass clock counted as of old Outside, the branches crossed the pane Black lines against a fading sky The room contained its common things Yet something would not pass me by [Verse 2] I rose and crossed the floor once more And touched the latch upon the door No voice was carried through the hall No footstep sounded on the floor The fire settled into ash The shadows gathered near the wall Nothing had entered from without Yet something stood beyond it all [Pre-Chorus] Not seen Not heard Yet every object seemed to wait [Chorus] The room was not the room that night The lamp gave more than lamp-light gave The air grew deep around the heart Like space beneath a silent wave I could not name what drew me on Nor why I wished to turn and stay The room was not the room that night And all familiar things gave way [Verse 3] The iron rail beyond the town Still carried freight into the dark The nations kept their measured course The engines cast their patient sparks Yet through the window’s fragile glass The distant lights appeared undone As though another order moved Behind the labors of men [Bridge] How narrow are the works we raise How brief the maps we leave behind A breath A flame A hand upon a page Then something larger fills the mind [Final Chorus] The room was not the room that night The walls withdrew, the silence grew The lamp burned on The clock spoke on Yet neither told what I then knew I cannot say what passed so near Nor what remained when it was gone Only that iron held the earth And light endured beyond the dawn [Outro] The clock resumed its measured work The lamp burned low The page lay still Yet sometimes when the house is quiet I feel that widening still
