Never Turning Back to Look at Stone

The fire went out about an hour ago
I watch your breath drift up into the pines
The cedar cabin looks so small below
And there is nothing left to read between the lines

I set your heavy jacket by the door
I leave the brass key resting on the wood
You always told me you could give no more
And now I finally believe you understood

High above the tree line where the winter stays
I let you go into the mountain wind
No more burning down our better days
No more waiting for the freeze to end
I am walking down this winding track alone
And I am never turning back to look at stone

My boots make thunder in the frozen crust
The valley lights are waking up below
A little girl believes in what she must
A grown-up woman knows when she should go

High above the tree line where the winter stays
I let you go into the mountain wind
No more burning down our better days
No more waiting for the freeze to end
I am walking down this winding track alone
And I am never turning back to look at stone

It felt like dying when the latch fell down
It felt like something broke inside my chest
But morning comes across the lower town
And sometimes leaving is the only rest

High above the tree line where the winter stays
I let you go into the mountain wind
No more burning down our better days
No more waiting for the freeze to end
I am walking down this winding track alone
And I am never turning back to look at stone

Down the gravel and the melting snow
Never turning back to look at stone
Down the mountain where the rivers flow
Walking down to what is still my own