While sifting through old photographs br Of childhood, black and white, br I came across a scene that stirred br My memory, overnight, br Three children by a sandcastle, br The finest ever made, br My sister, me and Hazel, br Made with bucket, and with spade, br With towers, crenellations br And surrounded by a moat, br The sand was dry, the tide was out br It stood there proud, remote. br br Though sixty years have passed since then, br That camera shutter's sight br Caught just one random moment in br An afternoon's delight, br It froze that moment of our lives, br That castle on the sand, br And though the tide swept in that day br That castle, still it stands, br While we watched as the sands of time br Wrought havoc in our lives, br The moat we built could not protect br From husbands, or from wives. br br The tide swept in and filled the moat, br The sides began to melt, br The water undermined the walls br And suddenly, they fell, br The love that we had built them with br Was washed right out to sea, br And left no sign of love behind, br For Hazel, Tess or me, br And then we learned the lesson br That our lives revolved around, br That nothing built will last unless br It's built on solid ground. br br We spent our lives in dreaming br Building castles in the sand, br Believing that the tide would never turn br To wreck our plans, br We thought love was the answer br 'Til discovering, too late, br That love swings on a pendulum, br The other end is hate, br And just as tides flow in and out br And level out the land, br The tides of life wreak havoc with br Our castles in the sand.