"What Bird Did You See" lyrics

In the parking lot the dark becomes two panes of light
There's a charcoal slash of ocean and a smoky plank of sky
Now they're changing colors
Laurel green with snowy aster
Agate blue with alabaster

And as the blues are brightening and the cars are coming in
You see a seagull weave a path upon the wind
Like a thread that can begin and then begin
While the world just goes about its day
As the ground beneath you falls away

In this time when there's no time, there is no place to be
What bird did you see?

You think a goldfinch is enchanting and you know you told her
Now a goldfinch lands above you like it's on your shoulder
Yesterday you saw a red-tailed hawk
Around a corner proud and still
Out of place, a sentinel

And at the window when sparrows flew away
A single cardinal seemed to know he had to stay
He had a to be the bright vermilion in the gray
While the world just goes about its day
As the ground beneath you falls away

In the presence of this absence, was there one bright flash, a simple song, a revery?
What bird did you see?

And you will feel the summer sun and autumn rays
You will return to busy friends and busy days
But now in this time, between the here and the hereafter, there's a feather at your door
And love will find its way
In the life you have today
You'll go back to what you understand
Maybe unbelieve
But tell me now, what bird did you see?
It's okay to know it's me