A Tree Takes Root

Babel

Voices surround me in the dark
Reaching out from the past
Longing to be heard
To make me understand
To remember that which has been forgotten
And recall those who no longer can

Mein Name ist Joachim
My name is Joachim
Though here they called me John
I was once a part of the huddled masses
Yearning to breathe free
But now I stand tall
For heaven has the clearest air of all

Og mitt navn er Ingeborg
And my name is Ingeborg
But Lizzie will do
Once I lived not far from you
I was around when they cleared the trees from this land
And now I'm here to make you understand
We will always be a part of you

Agus tá m'ainm a bheith caillte go ham
And my name has been lost to time
I lived so long ago
I was born in a far distant land
One that you might never see
But, remember, you are still blood to me
I have a warrior past
And I've come to light the same spark within you

Their voices ring out in a cacophony
And I feel like I'm in that tower
Mentioned in the Bible
The one called Babel
The world no longer has one speech
Our language is confused
And we don't understand each other
For God has scattered us over the face of the earth

But still we come together
Communicating across the ages
Speaking through our connected hearts
The whispers of my ancestors come to me
German, Norwegian, Irish
Swirls through my head
Breathing words I should not understand
Yet they speak to my soul
In a way I simply can't comprehend

God tore down the Tower of Babel
But it was created by
The people of the world
And I'm sure we can build another

For how else could I understand
Languages of my past
Spoken by the ones who made me
So many reaching out to me
The babble at Babel