How could a stone, mere Earth,
Falling constantly through space,
How could a stone give birth?
To all that moves with grace?

How does a rock become a bird?
How does it dance and grieve?
It’s something holy or absurd:
The earth itself can breathe.

But when our people fell to ground
Our wings were vestiges of bone,
And when we saw the dark profound
We crawled away to hide in stone

And hiding there our fears grew worse
Until we severed all relations
Our kin in other caves we’d curse,
And every cave became a nation.

This stone conversion from above
Has failed for us, it’s stone we crave,
Mistaking loneliness for love,
Brutality for being brave