Ahab's Quest - Feb. 1st, 2001 - by MrM

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Ahab - the man was on a quest
To quiet his dreams,
And give his tortured soul a rest

For the one thing that he had searched for
All of his life
Was the very thing that taunted him
And brought him the most strife.

He always knew that just over the next wave
Was that thing that would lead him
To his untimely grave

But he would not see that, At the time,
Everything that mattered to him
Was just out of reach... In his own mind.

CHORUS:

Ahab !
Where are you going man?
And what do you hope to find?
Don't you know That there is no happy ending
To this dream that you worship In your mind?

But Ahab was blinded by the truth
Of a vision that he'd been touched by
Once way back in his youth.
And nothing could be said -
And nothing could be done
To stop that fateful journey Once it had begun.

Though what he wanted Was always out of sight
He was never quite Out of his mind.
While Ahab searched endlessly,
Charting paths through the churning seas
He determined the course of his whole life.

CHORUS:

Ahab!
Where are you going man?
You have a child and a lovely young wife,
You have a place to call home.
There is a peace that you can own
If you could just leave this obsession behind.

He searched alone. He searched in vain
For a balm that he demanded
In an attempt to soothe his pain.
He talked longingly of home,
While taking everyone around him
On a trek - that all of nature tried,
But failed to contain.


CHORUS:

Ahab !
"Look at thy boat old man!"
Are you willing that we all shall die?
Don't you know That there is no comfort
In this revenge That you're still trying to find?

Face to face destiny found him
And he was conquered by the sight.
Because everything foretold to him
Was unfolding all around him
And he was just focusing
On the meaning of his life.

So now his search was over
He would roam restlessly no more...
He had fulfilled his dream,
But he had lost everything
That was fulfilling in his life - Nothing more.

CHORUS:

Hey you - Ahab!
Why can't you understand?
You've been warned so many times.
And you're destroying everything
That's ever had real meaning
In this search that's stolen Your whole life.

Sometimes you have to take the coffin
That circumstance provides,
And nail that casket closed,
With the faith that it will float
And provide you with your lifeline.

And the reason you survive
May be that sealed coffin
Floating on the tide.
Just another point of view
Another way to use the truth
To conquer that which can take you
Into the next life.

CHORUS:

Ahab !
Where are you going man?
And what do you hope to find?
Don't you know There isn't anything out there
That will settle Your troubled mind?

Ahab!
Where are you going man?
Just what do you hope to find...
Don't you know, There is no way
To live unless you
leave your past behind?

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