Saltwind Over Persia

[Verse 1]
Heat hangs heavy
Dates fall
Blackened on the stone
Minarets lean
Like tired old bones
Ink in the margins
Runs
Then turns to dust
Carpets of prayer
Rolled up
Stained with rust

[Chorus]
Hearts shattered
Bodies melting
Under a furious
Breathless sun
Saltwind over Persia
Burning
Every promise
Every tongue
Sand ablaze
The water dying
Turning bitter in my mouth
As the holy words go silent
Crumbling
Like the wind that sweeps the south

[Verse 2]
Gold domes blister
Colors bleed from every tile
Children draw rivers
In the dirt
Then wait a while
Names of the prophets
Scratched on crumbling clay
Merchants weigh faith
Then give it away

[Chorus]
Hearts shattered
Bodies melting
Under a furious
Breathless sun
Saltwind over Persia
Burning
Every promise
Every tongue
Sand ablaze
The water dying
Turning bitter in my mouth
As the holy words go silent
Crumbling
Like the wind that sweeps the south

[Bridge]
Who remembers
When the wells could sing? (hey)
When the shade meant mercy
When the call could ring?
Now even shadows
Crawl away from light
Only salt and silence
Hold this night

[Chorus]
Hearts shattered
Bodies melting
Under a furious
Breathless sun
Saltwind over Persia
Burning
Every promise
Every tongue
Sand ablaze
The water dying
Turning bitter in my mouth
As the holy words go silent
Crumbling
Like the wind that sweeps the south