Dawn mist settles on the meadows, dew chills the orchard rows,
Cicadas serenade as sunlight fades where Virginia creeper grows.
Sycamore shadows whisper, telling ancient secrets at the bend—
Could be just the rippled current, or Harlan drifting in again.
[Verse 1]
Ghost of rain on willow branches, the Shenandoah’s banks run cold,
Mockingbirds fall silent as mimosa petals fold.
Foxes pause at tangled fence lines, where honeysuckle climbs—
Harlan travels softly, and the old folks whisper stories of his kind.
Stone fences line the rolling pasture, woodsmoke in morning air,
Black locust canopies dapple the light, dancing shadows everywhere.
Never seen, but always felt—a presence drawing near,
The owls call into the night when Harlan travels here.
[Chorus]
He’s the hush before the thunder echoes down the Creek,
The ripples across dark waters and the language coyotes speak.
When the clouds gather heavy, and the wind wails like a train—
Harlan lingers near, and the town prepares for rain.
[Verse 2]
Horses toss their heads in the first cool breaths of winter breeze—
Harlan glides beside the Shenandoah, rustling through the leaves.
Swallows dart above blackboard fences, children stare along the lane,
Sun slips behind old apple trees, like memories sweet as rain.
Rosebushes reach out from hidden driveways, dogwoods shade the yards,
Hydrangeas hang their heads in faded blue as dusk settles behind the barns.
Sometimes only river mist or shadow figures in the fog,
Sometimes just a feeling, the pause when crickets stop.—
[Chorus]
He’s the hush before thunder echoes down the Creek,
The ripples across dark waters and the language coyotes speak.
When the clouds gather heavy, and the wind wails like a train—
Harlan lingers near, and the town prepares for rain.
[outro]
A stranger appears in twilights hush, like honeysuckle in the shade, Harlan arrives again in evening mist as summer starts to fade.
RiverstoneAndDogwood
