CYCLE OF LIFE

In the fleeting shadows and the ghostly smiles
In the sighs of an old man and the cries of a child
In the open doorways and the passage beyond
In the soft hollow moaning and the words of a song
 
Oh, now the past, the past is dead and gone
And the cycle of life keeps rolling on, and on
 
In the endless struggle from dawn to dusk
Mired in circumstance that they could not adjust
And in the blowing curtains on a summer breeze
In the smell of cut grass when you took your day of ease
 
Oh, now the past, the past is dead and gone
And the cycle of life keeps rolling on, and on
 
So many roads for you to take all leading to one place
Like ripples on a placid lake or the lines upon your face
 
Oh, now the past, the past is dead and gone
And the cycle of life keeps rolling on, and on

In the gentle trembling of the autumn leaves
In the first snows of winter as they caress the naked trees
In a flurry of laughter, in the midst of tears and strife
I know that I’ll see you after we depart this troubled life
 
Oh, now the past, the past is dead and gone
And the cycle of life keeps rolling on, and on