Cruel Twist of Fate

the news it arrived
 slack-jawed and late
 my lover is dead
 some cruel twist of fate
 the dust will settle
 over the grave
 my branded heart will never be saved
 the rusty dawn lies to my feet
 to meet me in a vacant street
 where dogs will bite and scratch at my heel
 two hundred miles my lips will be sealed
 from fetching the shovel
 to digging her tomb
 our unborn child still lies in the womb
 I've carried her body across forsaken lands
 and laid her in the earth
 with my own two hands
 the hills before me
 and the valleys between
 the stars above me and the heavens unseen
 the sullen shacks by the side of the trail
 I'm broken I'm starving I'm lovesick I'm frail
 the path that I follow will turn and will bend
 but all will have meaning in the end
 to collect her body tender and fair
 and run my rough hands through her soft wavy hair
 from fetching the shovel
 to digging her tomb
 our unborn child still lies in the womb
 I've carried her body across forsaken lands
 and laid her in the earth
 with my own two hands
 gripping the casket
 dripping with tears
 lowering her down
 with my hopes and my dreams
 a prayer and a ring go tumbling down
 landing softly upon her
 another box in the ground
 from fetching the shovel
 to digging her tomb
 our unborn child still lies in the womb
 I've carried her body across forsaken lands
 and laid her in the earth
 with my own two hands