Steel and Sand

[Verse 1]
The mailman brought it, thin and worn,
A distant wind, across a foreign morn.
That paper felt like metal, forged and true,
Just like the promises he always drew.
That scent, it wasn't pine or river ice,
But something sharp, a soldier's sacrifice.

[Chorus]
Steel and sand, a world away,
My brother's breath in every word they say.
From a place where the sun burns harsh and deep,
A silent vow, a promise he must keep.

[Verse 2]
He talked of 'cogs still turning,' under desert sky,
Of watching shadows stretch, and comrades die.
Said he was 'built for this,' like Kama's bedrock deep,
But I could hear the weariness his spirit keeps.

[Bridge]
Here, smoke and frost still cling to every pane,
But his smoke is gunfire, mixed with desert rain.
This forged-iron bond, it can't be bent or broke,
Even when the world speaks in a foreign tongue.

[Outro]
Steel and sand, a world away...
My brother's breath in every word they say.