And the blackberry still has its thorns And the blackberry still leaves its stains A dress damp and torn on the forest floor Where nary a trace still remains And the blackberry may have no memory of you But I do And the wild apple still has its thorns And the wild apple still has its blooms But the flower that shows doth not smell like a rose And no one can eat of its fruit And the wild apple may have no memory of you But I do I viewed this garden from a distance Especially in the flower of spring Not knowing of nature's insistence Not knowing the honey for its sting And the rose is a barrier of thorns After the petals have drooped And the staggering years with their own barren fears And the rose hips double-edged truth For these roses may have no memory of you But I do I followed your trail in dream-time Though the footprints were long filled with sand I swore not to walk on that shore any more Too much wreckage awash on that strand But that's me all alone on the shore With the flowers instead of a sword Tempting the fates and the same hurricane To strike twice where memory is stored For the storm may have no memory of you But I do