Now why this man’s soul was bleeding

the angel had to understand

so invisible, he stood by him

and then gently touched his hand

which caused the man to stand there still

despite the winter’s cold

and while he stood there in that trance

the angel read his soul

it seemed the man was not always like

the man he had become

and that angel wondered how that change had happened

and when it had begun

the man had been born to a kind and religious family

and raised in the midwest

and all throughout his childhood

this man, clearly, had been blessed

he grew up believing, among other things

man was made in the image of god

he went to school, observed all rules

while working very hard

he had always tried to help others

excelled at nearly every task

and when he’d graduated high school

of course, he was the first one in his class

and in his eighteenth summer

when it was time for him to leave

he had offers from several colleges

all of them ivy league

and at college in all his studies

he always received straight “a”s

and when he tried his hand in theater

he got the lead in the senior play

it appeared to nearly everyone

there was no talent that he lacked

and for three years on the football team

he was, the star quarterback

and there he also met the girl

who did become his wife

with her, his world was now complete

he had the perfect life

when they had graduated college

they were wed in a ceremony quite grand

then they moved to new york

in a dream they seemed caught

where all had been perfectly planned

she decorated their park avenue apartment

in a 1920’s art-deco style

and six months after they had moved in

she told him, they would soon be having a child

and after their first ultrasound

he knew they were having a son

their lives could not have been better

and they had only just begun

together they arrived early at the hospital

on the delivery date

the father was taking no chances

and did not want to risk being late

but while waiting outside the delivery room

he could tell that something was going wrong

for too many doctors were rushing in

with none coming out for too long

when her own doctor finally came out

with several nurses at his side

he said that his wife had started hemorrhaging

and despite their best efforts, she died

then in an effort to console him

a nurse gave him his newborn to hold

but from the way the child felt limp in his arms

he knew there was still more bad news to be told

the doctor then gave the prognosis

as gently as anyone could

but before he could finish explaining

the father only too well understood

the child had been cut off from oxygen

for minutes, which is far too long

the damage was now irreversible

his brain permanently malformed

he’d never hold a job,

learn to read or ever talk

and it would be a miracle

if the child even learned how to walk

and with those words the father felt

his entire world falling apart

and he stumbled for the words to express

the tearing inside of his heart

he cried out, why did god have to take her

while she was still so young

and then as if to cut him deeper

leave this thing here as his son

“please explain to me god’s wisdom

how could he decide

to take from me my precious wife

while leaving this alive

there is no reason for this life

why does he even exist

and if he had never been born

there is no way he’d have ever been missed

if man is made in god’s image

then something here is surely amiss

for there is nothing of god

nothing of god

nothing of god

nothing of god

nothing of god in this”

and then he asked for the child

to be placed in a state run home

and after he had signed the papers

he walked into that night alone

and in this world he found unkind

he built a wall around his mind

and every year he’d add new parts

until it had also enclosed his heart

he kept his job and paid his debts

as he slowly became a silhouette

of a man walking among the tombs

while living his life within his wounds

he distanced himself from all his friends

even his sisters and brothers

and as time it went by, he developed his eyes

so they could only see the flaws in others

with this final glimpse, the angel stepped away

and the man shook himself out of his trance

then continued his walk back towards his home

and few would have given his soul half of a chance

and the angel himself felt helpless

as he watched that old man there

so he did what even humans do

and he quickly said a prayer

and as the prayer flew to his lord

the angel did decide

to carefully follow the old man

and stay closely by his side

for on this night can one deny

the gift of a more sympathetic eye

to cast upon our fellow man

and on this night to understand

the frailty of childhood dreams

like fireflies over summer streams

and if one dared to remove time’s veil

could one retrace those childhood trails?

but whispers in the winter’s wind

told of rescued dreams, forgiven sins

and who among us shall be deemed

to rescue some forgotten dream?

so on this night of christmas eve

as once again the spirits weave

its snowswept dreams and colored lights

with bits of magic into each life

and as the snow comes gently down

its soul intent to reach the ground

to cover scars the world still feels

perhaps to give them time to heal

for as men invest in money

and professors in what they know

god invests in mercy

like winter invests in snow

THE WISDOM OF SNOW

(Instrumental)