screaming/whispering

echoes ring up from his valley...he is screaming,
screaming at the top of his lungs,
screaming for all the gray world to hear,
screaming because it keeps the tears at bay.

(Hey, somebody calls down into his valley,
what are you doing down there?

I was screaming for help, he said, red-faced and tired,
isn't that why you came?

Nah, somebody said, didn't hear a thing, pal,
I was just passin' by...

Oh, he said, okay.

You want somebody to hear ya,
ya gotta make some noise...)

echoes ring up from his valley,
echoes ring down from his former hilltop,
he thinks he is screaming,
somebody knows he's barely whispering...

the clouds are gathering on the near horizon
and he is swallowed by pride and defeat
and he is screaming in plaintive whispers,
screaming for all the blessed world to hear...