Болховитин Александр Павлович A simple man

Leaves are scattering in autumn's breath
So will children vanish far away
That's the mission parents get in death
And I pity them, I have to say

For they miss them, clash with fate
Yet perhaps they save them – not in vain
Children, blind, don't contemplate
What it's all for, why the strain

Why we live, and for whom, in the end?


But life flies past like leaves that fall
Children fade into the dawn
Parents wait, but hear no call
Not a word comes back, not one


They would love to help, to steer
Set their feet upon the right track
Some just want to spread their fear
Never mind, we won't look back

Let the kids break through alone
But today it's not our war
Years they'll knock their heads on stone
They'll be sent to – and what for?


But life flies past like leaves that fall
Children fade into the dawn
Parents wait, but hear no call
Not a word comes back, not one


Someone raised a boy for life
Then they take him with a cheer Hurrah!
Feels like a conveyor, a knife
Draft board, summons – time to go, ah

It drags on – an endless dread
A pause – but birds still circle round
They cut eternity with greed instead
With mouths that swallow all they've found

Guts full, blood in veins runs cold
Eyes are veiled, smoke everywhere
They'll write on walls – a story bold
And criminal turns on us – beware


Or are there lifeless ones among us
Robots hiding in plain sight?
What have we become – so soulless?
Who are we today? Can we find light?

We ourselves don't know the answer
Only echoes in empty towns
Freedom without light – a dancer
Left in hearts that break and drown


But children leave like falling leaves
And time is squeezing like a ring
We search our minds for what believes
But only see a stranger's face, a thing


Or maybe we are still alive
And pain is our own compass star?
As long as we remember, we survive
Our strange world hasn't gone too far