the yangtze fog rolls past the pier
the mississippi hums a song so clear
one counts the tides in rice-field rows
one keeps the autumn's golden glow
we write our hometowns into night
we hide tomorrow out of sight
two different names
one question deep
who decides where the far lands sleep
a bridge is not a line on the map
a bridge is a hand reaching back
oh pacific wind
across the dream
ten thousand lights
the same
the same
oh pacific wind
across the sea
the rivers and the mountains gleam
rain taps on beijing's window glass
snow bends chicago's neon signs at last
the factory gates close in the haze
young hearts fold resumes into paper waves
some say the world is win or lose
some say the world can share one muse
but every face seeks one small light
to light itself and the neighbor's night
a bridge is not to make us the same
a bridge is letting two voices name
oh pacific wind
across the dream
ten thousand lights
the same
the same
oh pacific wind
across the sea
the rivers and the mountains gleam
if memory's not a sword
if power's not the word
if borders still have room
then on the shore so long
one heart may wake at dawn
between two tongues
a song
oh pacific wind
we meet at last
let rice and wheat share one sweet blast
put all the fears in an old case
and let the morning light erase
the yangtze flows eastbound
the mississippi south
we carry our own names
to a tomorrow unwritten
