Dream Child (a Christmas Dream)

In the night was the dark
In the dark was the dream
In the dream was the child
And myself there unseen

In the book was the word
In the word there was truth
In the truth there was age
In the age there was youth

And I said to the child
"Do your hands, they still bleed?
After all of this time
Do you think there's still need?"

But the child only smiled
And said not a word
And the snow it came down
As if it hadn't heard

And all that night the snow came down
To heal the scars our lives had found
And the dreams that lay broken

And there upon that bridge of dreams
Across the night we walked unseen
With no words ever spoken

And then on through that night
We did walk for a while
And our steps turned to blocks
And the blocks turned to miles

Then we followed a path
For as far as we could
Till we found ourselves there
In an evergreen woods

There were thousands of candles
Upon every tree
It was beautiful but
There was one mystery

For with all of those candles
You must understand
That the only one lit
Was now there in his hand

And there upon that Christmas scene
The candle wax of melted dreams
And the years they had taken

And as that snow did gently fall
We one by one relit them all
Till each dream was awakened

And there to that light
This young child showed to me
All the things that he dreamt
All the things that might be

How for everything given
That something is gained
Strike one match in the dark
And all the world's not the same

And then I asked that child
"Why this night has a star?"
And he said, "So we'd know
That we could see that far"

And these candles away
To that star's distant light
And it all came to me
Upon that long winter's night
That long winter's night
That long winter's night

And when I awoke
Well, the child he was gone
But somewhere in my mind
I believe he lives on

And somewhere in my life
Between here and the end
On a long winter's night
I will dream him again