Even the Dead Have Their Tasks

We pack up our gear and we're gone again

Driven by passion, outward

Away from family and friends

But what they can't see

Is that everyday, I'm drownin'

Drownin' in a sea

Of faces that I miss so desperately

With each flashing countenance

A torrent of emotion, joy, and memories

The people I've grown to love

So deeply throughout the years

I've chosen a big family

And the weight of their absence

Has brought me more than once to tears

I wake from sleep, violently

Only to witness those lives and faces

Disappear slowly behind me

Again, I'm pulled back into deep waters

Washed further away from my sisters and brothers

Am I truly living a dream

When the only time I spend with you is in my sleep?

And how am I to stay the course

And to remain bold?

When all those my heart longs for

Remain firmly anchored at home?

Am I truly living a dream

When the only time I spend with you is in my sleep?

With every "It's been a while" embrace

I wish it could last an eternity

Silently praying for the courage to say

"Oh, God, how I've missed you" (Oh, God, how I've missed you)

I've seen you in my sleep

We were laughing, crying, joking

You know, the way it used to be

Back when we were younger and all that much more free

I just hope you see that nothing's changed between you and me

No matter the time we spent apart

I know it's not always easy to show it

But please believe that I carried you in my heart

That you were with me through every mile

I could've sworn I saw your phantom standing in the aisle

It seems you already know what I'm thinking

And that even after all this time

Some things still do go without saying

We savored the taste of our sweet youth

And now with calloused hands, gather the remaining fruit

To go any farther we must endure further pains

Skinned, mashed, and finally strained

Fermenting in the time spent away

Only to return with a fine vintage

To cheers to the health of those who stayed