When the dust settles

 When the dust settles

by Joel Howard
 
Not much is visible here in the night
Wrong things look pretty, can't see the right

Storms keep us moving, hidden from sight
Can't see what's moving at the speed of light

Chances are there's more to each story, you and me
Chances are there's a lot that we don't see

One could be famous, one could be rich
One could end up abandoned, dead in a ditch

One could have made it to the top and have it all
But alone in his bedroom, he grieves and feels small

Parents, too, are often unseen fighters
Of who their children become, the unknown igniters

Music may sound and be replayed for generations
But Oh! The toil that led us to be able to play their stations

Slavery kept so many in debt 
Paying for freedom some never get

Our mothers and fathers, again, play a part
That's often unseen, that's the hidden part

Another thing is how once a man is dead
We often forget what all went through his head

What he or she lived, experienced and did
To get to the place where we admire them again

Books play a role integral for so many
The promise, the hope of a land full of plenty

They tell age-old stories; hidden, refined gold
They prompt us to carry our destiny, our role

We see how they rose, how they fell, how they lived
We can do what they'd do if they did it again

Yes, we learn from mistakes and the wisdom of others
We can call ancient ones our sisters and brothers

Sit, child, and learn from the wisdom of friends
We can do what they'd do if they did it again
We can do what we'd do if we did it again