Susitna - David Roth

On a clear day in the distance

You can see her 'cross the bay

She’s a sleeping, sleeping lady

And Susitna is her name

Sparkling clear her deep brown eyes were

Warm as sunlight her golden skin

She was sworn to great Denali

Strong and true their love had been

As they prepared to be newly wedded

On the shores of the Bering Sea

There came the thunder of far-off battle

And brave Denali took his leave

No bow and arrow, no kind of weapon

No arm of war did Denali bear

Just a promise for his lover

And a lock of her silken hair

My Susitna, close your eyes and sleep

For your love my heart will yearn

And I’ll be with you in your very dream

'Til the moment I return

So she lay down there, the very spot where

She had vowed her love to him

Overlooking the peaceful valley

Where the promise had been given

And the moments turned to hours

And the hours into days

And the days turned into season

Still she heard Denali say

My Susitna, close your eyes and sleep

For your love my heart will yearn

And I’ll be with you in your very dream

'Til the moment I return

Now every autumn with the shedding

Of the branches and the leaves

One more blanket for Susitna

One more layer of her dreams

Still she’d wait there for his coming

Though in battle he did fall

And the coldest wind of winter

Brings a lonely lover’s call

My Susitna, close your eyes and sleep

For your love my heart will yearn

And I’ll be with you in your very dream

'Til the moment I return

On a clear day in the distance

You can see her cross the bay

Now we call her Mount Susitna

And she sleeps there to this day

And when the moon goes round from full to new

That’s the blinking of her eye

She is looking tot he northern land

Where the great Denali lies

And when the river of that valley flows

Two tall mountains far apart

Share the memory of a time gone by

And the spirit of one heart