Clarion Call

I can hardly remember what I was
What I did when I was young
Memories long since faded
Like ripples on a pond.

How did it come to this,
With duty's unmarked grave?
To my brothers and my sisters,
To those I could not save.

For the ones that died in my arms,
When I all could do was hold you
And be strong for the moment,
Well I'm sorry, I did all I could do.

For the friends in turn I buried,
Beneath the starry sky,
Don't watch what is to come,
Turn your heads, don't see my cry.

To those I left behind,
My heart neglected so.
I had to leave to save you,
There was no choice but to let me go.

But now all of them are gone
Shadows of my distant past.
Memories long since faded
Like a spring that did not last.

And how can I forget
That siren song I heard?
The clarion call one spring morning,
That led me far from home.

So young we were in its arms.
How many left save myself
Survived its haunting melody,
That kept us in its spell?

Made to endure what was impossible,
Of rock and death and time.
To none we owed anything,
The stars we tried to climb.

But now the moon has long since waned
And the stars they shine no more.
Memories long since faded,
Like waves upon the shore.

Even in the gloom of night
In forest dark and deep,
I still recall the nagging tune
And the promises I meant to keep.

Resting my weary eyes
I recall springtime buds.
Pale and cold in the morning dew,
A reminder to what was.

And how can I forget
That siren song I heard?
The clarion call one spring morning,
That led me far from home.

How did it come to this?
My duty overbearing,
To my brothers and my sisters,
To those who still need rearing.

And yet I come to realize
The importance of this song,
The clarion call is a reminder
To those who linger on.