Keep the Pass

Iron frost along the gate

A pale line cuts the frozen

ground

You count the steps,

you hold your breath The old

road

keeps its counsel now

Stand where the black pines thin

Hold fast, let the cold come

in No oath

is made for ease We keep

the pass

beneath the trees

Your hands are red from turning

stone

The watch fire gutters,

then burns low

A horn calls once across the

ridge You know the path

you do not go

Stand where the black pines thin

Hold fast, let the cold come

in No

oath is made for ease We

keep the pass

beneath the trees

Count the marks cut in the

oak

One for each who crossed alone

When the thaw unseals the ford

Leave the last mark as it

was

Stand where the black pines thin

Hold fast, let the cold come

in No oath

is made for ease We keep

the pass

beneath the trees

The gate stays shut

The watch stays on