Valley of Arrows

The years move quietly
Like shadows across the stone
Names once spoken by thousands
Fade into the wind
The crowns grow cold
The banners disappear

Time keeps no monuments
Only memories
And even they drift away
Like dust upon the water
Carried farther
Than anyone can follow

What remains
When the voices are gone?
What survives
When the builders have fallen?
Perhaps not the walls
Nor the gold
But the choices
Left behind

A single spark
Can outlive the hand that lit it
A single truth
Can travel through generations
Long after its messenger
Has returned to silence

Ashes and echoes
Scattered through time
Ashes and echoes
Leaving their signs
Ashes and echoes
Nothing remains unchanged

The road continues
Beyond the final page
Others will walk it
Others will choose
Others will build
Or tear apart
What they have been given

Ashes and echoes
Scattered through time
Ashes and echoes
Leaving their signs
Ashes and echoes
Still calling
Through the years

The scroll is closed
The story remains