Show Me the Way

By John Herlihy

Ghosts linger there at water’s edge;

In fleeting dreams, I make my pledge.

Stardust streaks across the night sky;

Heaven weeps down rain from on high.

Show me the way, please show me the way;

I don’t want to stay here, not always to stay.

I know I am lost and not fully whole,

Whispers in the backwaters of my soul.

Here I am feeling oh so far from home,

Faint light gleaming from a rolling stone.

Show me the way, please show me the way;.

I don’t want to stay here, not always to stay

The hollow drums speak to me arumblin’;

The night crickets seem to be agrumblin’.

Moonlight leads me forth I know not where;

Out of earth’s dungeons, I cannot stay there.

Show me the way, please show me the way;

I don’t want to stay here, not always to stay.

Out of the pitch blackness I see a spark;

Moonglow and fireflies brighten the dark.

In the circle of mystery, I sit on the porch;

What I want, what I need, a simple torch.

Show me the way, please show me the way;

I don’t want to stay here, not always to stay.

As driftwood I ride down the rapids run,

Awash in turbulent waters without the fun.

Destiny is engraved on the back of seashells,

Ancient and enduring, only the mystery tells.

Show me the way, please show me the way;

I don’t want to stay here, not always to stay.

May all my entreaties sing pure from my lips;

May I drink Your subtle mystery in tender sips.

May I offer You my heart, there for the taking;

I give you what I am in my humble forsaking.

Show me the way, please show me the way;

I don’t want to stay here, not always to stay.