It all ends as it begins, the fire br Of divine creation consumes again the br Twisted remnants of our mortal inspiration - br Watch them as they streak across the sky. br We are both the chosen and the fallen - br And we are, one-by-one, toppled br Forests of antiquity - barren br Branches fractured, brittle china br Of our reconstruction. br The desperation of mortality, the br Hand above the breaking waves - she’s br Slipping to the coral now, so close to me. br As we've come to know them, ideologies br Dissolve to their constituencies. br Cities crumble to their stones; br Empires fall upon the bones br Of their constructors - br And we, the conquerors, br We shall know with certainty, br Upon the journey home. br It all begins upon the ends - br A new sun shining deep within br The wreckage of another - br In that clouded nebula, br What was there before? br Were there lively conversations br In their towns by rolling seas? br Was there someone looking skyward br To their Sovereign looking down to me? br Round around, around the candle’s glow, br The ocean of the river's flow, br The mountains of the dust below - br Columbia’s gone across the sky br Believe - br It isn’t but to pass br It’s done - br Goodbye.