The Colossus That Bestrode The World

thousands of years I was watching
 over the plains and the sands
 eternal smile on my lips
 I was announcing peace
 with unassuming grace
 while people looked up to me
 then came a faith
 raping all signs
 all in its way
 you can erase a thing of worth
 while you can't cast out its truth
 you can negate and violate all over again
 you can collapse an icon and wipe out its light
 but you cannot erase the one eternal smile
 hundreds of years on an old shelf
 knowledge and culture preserved
 in a word some won't ever conceive
 then came a hidebound hand
 raping the deathless page
 it happens every day
 you can erase a word of truth
 while you can't cast out its worth
 you can negate and violate all over again
 you can collapse a bright star and wipe out its light
 but you cannot erase the one eternal word