Towering Inferno

I thought I saw a dead man today
Floating in the air
He was staring down at me
I couldn’t see if he was really there

Until I heard the awful sound
Of iron works in pain
For more than a minute there
I thought I’d gone insane

Half a mile high and burning down
Ashes ashes in the sky
A hundred stories tall and all on fire
Burning to the ground

The apparition spoke to me
He said you’d best be going, boy
You’ve miles to go and things to see
Before you hit the soil

Don’t think I ever ran so fast
In my life until at last
Daylight I thought but no alas
It was just my life, the past

Spread out in front of these two eyes
Burning red with fear
And fumes and grief and agony
But purpose true and clear

Half a mile high and burning down
Ashes ashes in the sky
A hundred stories tall and all on fire
Burning to the ground