For B. (28 November 1970 - 4 January 1993).

I took a walk on a shiny day
came back home with everything changed
thought my exile had come to an end
but when I arrived you went

No one dared to speak the truth
like a code, a taboo
so afraid to say something wrong
We swallowed the words behind our tongues

A lot to suffer for you alone
Our hope for rescue was long gone
Don’t know where this is all coming from
by rays, genes or just by chance?

This is a prayer for
This is a prayer for
This is a prayer for
and old friend

You saw the danger, you knew it well
no one could help you, no sacred spell
You felt it flowing, you felt it ache
right through your blood life started to fade

We became weaker but you stayed strong
few days later you were gone
I spent the night on the floor
lost and cold behind a hospital’s door

This is a prayer for
This is a prayer for
This is a prayer for
and old friend

Later I found you wide awake
with your eyes open wide
You told me that you had to lie
and that your death was just a fake
but you never told me why

Now those mares have passed me by
like a river sunk in the ground
Being left here on earth is just different
neither better or worse
and there’s still a long way to go

Left with nothing but faded signs
water and time dissolve the lime
I regret all the words that were unsaid
I don’t regret the tears falling on your bed

Cold the rain on my skin
broken and gone a teenage dream
you vanished away out of a dawn
pale your face but calm your brow

This is a prayer for
This is a prayer for
and old friend