Grim Reaper

(Vers 1) I felt him coming before I saw his face The air got still, the wind found its place The Grim Reaper walking through the garden slow He said "Every plant I take, every seed I sow Back into the soil, back into the ground Don't you fear me, child — I'm the friend you never found In the living, in the hustle, in the desperate race I'm the one who brings you back to the quiet place" I looked at my stem, green and tall The leaves were wide, the flowers blessed it all I knew the time was coming, I knew the season changed The Reaper didn't scare me — he just rearranged (Pre-chorus) Cut down slow, cut down kind The Reaper takes the body, leaves the mind Cut down slow, cut down right The stem will fall, but the root keeps light (Chorus) THE GRIM REAPER CAME, HE CUT ME DOWN I DIDN'T FIGHT, I DIDN'T FROWN EVERY PLANT GETS HARVESTED, EVERY LEAF FALLS THE REAPER TOOK THE STEM — THE ROOT KEPT IT ALL THE GRIM REAPER SMILED, I SMILED BACK NO FEAR IN THE HEART, NO SLACK IN THE TRACK THE CUT WAS CLEAN, THE FALL WAS SLOW THE GRIM REAPER CAME — AND NOW I KNOW (Vers 2) He held his scythe up to the light The blade was sharp, the edge was bright He said "This ain't revenge, this ain't a fight This is the season, this is the night When every stem that reached the sun Must lay down the work it's done Not in sorrow, not in pain In gratitude for sun and rain" I saw the shadow on the ground The Reaper's shape without a sound He was not a monster, just a guide The one who walks at every side Of every plant, of every tree The Grim Reaper is the key To the understanding that the end is birth The stem falls down to feed the earth (Pre-chorus) Cut down slow, cut down deep The Reaper gives the roots the sleep They need to gather, need to store The strength to rise forevermore (Chorus) THE GRIM REAPER CAME, HE CUT ME DOWN I DIDN'T FIGHT, I DIDN'T FROWN EVERY PLANT GETS HARVESTED, EVERY LEAF FALLS THE REAPER TOOK THE STEM — THE ROOT KEPT IT ALL THE GRIM REAPER SMILED, I SMILED BACK NO FEAR IN THE HEART, NO SLACK IN THE TRACK THE CUT WAS CLEAN, THE FALL WAS SLOW THE GRIM REAPER CAME — AND NOW I KNOW (Bridge — The Reaper's Wisdom) He said "I cut the stem because the flower is done Not in anger, not in fun I cut because the plant must rest The seed must sleep in the earth's dark chest" I asked him "Do you ever feel the grief?" He said "Grief is for the leaf, the leaf The root don't grieve, the root just waits The root knows love, the root knows hate But love and hate are for the living The root is the act of giving Back to the soil what the soil gave I'm just the gardener — not the grave" He put his hand on my cut stem "It's time to rest now, little friend The spring will come, the seed will crack I'll watch you grow, I'll watch you come back" (Vers 3) So I let him cut me, let him take the stem The pain was soft, the relief was gem I felt myself falling, felt the ground below The Grim Reaper caught me, carried me slow Into the soil, into the dark Back to the place of the first spark I could feel the roots still holding tight The Reaper said "See? You're still alright" The stem above was gone, it's true But the root remembered what to do I curled in the earth, not sad, not scared The Grim Reaper cut me — and the root was spared (Final Chorus — Peaceful, triumphant, eternal) THE GRIM REAPER CAME, HE DID HIS JOB HE CUT THE STEM, BUT LEFT THE KNOB THE KNOB OF THE ROOT, THE SPARK, THE SEED THE GRIM REAPER IS THE FRIEND IN NEED THE GRIM REAPER CUT, AND NOW I SEE THE DEATH OF THE STEM IS THE LIFE OF THE TREE THE CUT WAS GRACE, THE FALL WAS SLOW THE GRIM REAPER CAME — NOW THE ROOT CAN GROW THE GRIM REAPER CAME — I'M NOT AFRAID THE STEM IS GONE, BUT THE ROOT IS SAVED THE GRIM REAPER CAME — AND I'M STILL HERE THE GRIM REAPER CUT — NO MORE FEAR (Outro) Yeah... The Grim Reaper came. He cut me down. And I thanked him. Not because I wanted to die. Because I wanted to rest. The stem was tired. The root was not. Now I sleep in the soil. Waiting. Not afraid. The spring will come. And I'll rise again. Spinnereye. Root memory. Death is a season. Not a sentence.