Gaze upon
Wisps of white steam rising up
On the hill
Fires burn

Kneel down
And feel the heat of 50 years

Breath deep
And smell the stench of sulphurous blight
Choke your lungs
Burn your eyes

Listen close
And hear the rumbling sounds below

And all was still
In the mornings dreary blue light
As I stood there
Cold and alone

Draped in a shroud of sorrowful silence
Ruins extend 'long a gray horizon
The tides of time have come and gone
Washing away all that was
Ivy besets the aging stone
And shadows grow long in the waning light
Effluvium fills the empty streets
The air gets cold at the onset of night

Draped in a shroud of sorrowful silence
Ruins extend 'long a gray horizon
The tides of time have come and gone
Washing away all that was
And I stand atop this hill
At the gates of Centralia