Emerald

I have come to the west, the emerald kingdom highway
It's like a hero's path I'm following
I don't know what to think, what to do with myself today
Shouldn't I hear the future calling me?

Under a low cloud
Vanishing up through the tree line of the mountains
Catching the light from the morning on a river come to life
The grand Columbia

I've returned this time through these cascades in autumn
And for once I am unquestioning
I can see the boatman shout over the wind and engines
As the gold coins shower from aspen trees

And into the twilight
A hazy moon on the amethystine river
Watching the heron lifting up and her wings spread wide
As the Columbia

Unbeknownst to my pride I had filled my memories
With these hours of gold and emerald light
Now I plunge my hands into all this time I've lived
And the jewels spill through my fingers
I am back in the west on this canyon highway
I can see a girl is passing
She is going so fast I can hardly tell it's me
Doesn't she know that she'll be traveling?

Under a low cloud
Out of the northwest and through the Rocky Mountains
Across the prairies to the Appalachian rises
Now the Pennsylvania farms into the traffic of the eastern cities
Into my town, onto my street, up the stairs, into my house
Grab the kids and out the back into the garden