There was a time
When men were men
And boys were boys
Still playing
With their silly toys.

They played pretend
And dressed like men
But in the end
They were just boys again

Their toys were props
With no true meaning
Guns without bullets
And knives
That could do no cleaving

That time has come
And that time has gone
Boys cannot be boys
But are forced into men
Their childhood ends
Before their fun can begin

This newfound maturity
Just damages them
These boys,
These boys who are men

They leave their homes
To fight again.
Now not with friends.

Far too young
They are taught
To raise a gun
And make a man naught

To extinguish a life
Much like theirs
To fight a war
About which nobody cares

These boys are young
Too young to fight
Many stand
Frozen with fright

Fear takes the place
Of the fun they might have had
And the death about them
Just makes them sad

Too young are they
To see these sights
Too young are they
To survive this fight

Without wounds deeper
Than a blade could cut
Without thoughts sadder
Than they have ever thought

They are like toy soldiers
All dressed up and straight
But they are frozen with fear
And cannot feel hate

Too young to fight
And too young to care
These boys are not men
And this is not fair.

Don’t feed me lies
Don’t soften the truth
I want to know it all
Everything about you

Who you are
And where you’ve been
Who you consider
To be your friends

Such trivial things
They might bore you
But they interest me
And give me life anew

Don’t stop now
Don’t take a moment
Just spit it all out fast
Until you are spent

If you don’t stop
Then your filter is off
You can’t plan your thoughts
But you may need to cough

For at this speed
You tire yourself out
With your mouth flapping
Like a large trout

But don’t be shy
And don’t take offense
Because of this state
We truly are friends

For now you are speaking
The truths you hold dear
And now your thoughts
Have become so clear

I understand you
And who you are
Where you come from
Why you have that scar

It makes me feel closer
Or less out of touch
To know someone
This much

And I find myself falling
Falling for you
As we sit at this table
This table for two

An island alone
A kingdom of thought
A small place
That cannot be bought

It’s a moment earned
Only if we try
A moment alone
Without a goodbye

We feel so together
In our own little place
No one around us
Despite the crowds pace

All alone
At this table for two
All alone
At this table for me and you.

And so they fall
Straight to the ground
Like droplets of light
They make no sound

So clear and bright
But bred of dark
They hit the spot
And leave their mark

They linger for a time
Dark stains on pavement
Proof
Of my every movement

From here to there
As I lope about
Not hearing a thing
Not even the shouts

The shouts of happiness
The shouts of joy
The shouts of those
Who frolick and enjoy

They who love life
And live it so well
They hold it so dearly
As if under a spell

But not me
Not now
I cannot see
How

Maybe once I did
Maybe I still could
Maybe I even should

But I cannot bring myself
To think such things
Not with this sadness
That makes my ears ring

I can do nothing but sleep
I am forever weary
It makes this life
Seem so dreary

A crushing weight
Like no other
It tires me out
In a matter of hours

And the cloud returns
And my mind grows dark
While my heart yearns
For what I have not got

I can never be happy
With stains like these
Bright lines
That trace the contours of my cheeks

Lines that are made
By those droplets of light
Those crystals of sadness
As dark as night.

My mind darts in
To the lion’s den.
Never to see the light again.

A place of danger,
Of pitfalls and traps.
A place where even the bravest snap.

But in this land
Of danger and pain.
For me,
A new found sense of peace and tranquility reigns.

For in the chaos of my brain,
Order will never emerge again.
Never take hold
And **** the reigns,
Or even notify me
Of my pain.

For this anguish here,
It is too hard to bear.
And so of sanity I am not heir.
If I was,
You’d surely see
A much darker side of me.

One with hope,
That will destroy my life
And force me to choke
On the world I see
Right before my deadened eyes.

An ephemeral meaning,
A floating wish,
A yearning for deaths kiss.

And so I enter
The lion’s den,
Never to step out again.

I was sitting on a park bench in December
Whence we met
Just watching my breath steam
In wisps and curls about my head
I sat there in silence for a time
Attempting to discover who this being was
I recognized her not
Though she was mine own age
Eventually, I knew her gaze
And I looked into her eyes
Just to see her intention
How her fate would affect mine
I recognized her now and spoke
But my voice filled with fear
And my heart filled with ice
But as time went on,
My resolve grew strong
And my head cleared of its eternal strife.
I bellowed aloud
Just so she would hear.
My voice deepened with anger
And I proclaimed,
“It’s not my time yet,
I must remain.
I have not known love,
Life’s great joy.
This is the reason I live,
I am but a lonely boy.
And I have found another
Whom I hold dear.
She widens my grin,
From ear to ear.
I would like my chance,
To make her happy.
To feel life’s greatest joy,
To be a daddy.
So give me some time,
And come back for me then,
I will greet you
Like a dear old friend.”
And so she rose,
What a beautiful sight,
All surrounded by gray and white.
I stood entranced
By beauty unmatched,
As she whirled about
And looked at me last.
She spoke not a word,
Let no sound free.
But the look in her eyes
Was one of understanding.
And slowly she left,
Absorbed entirely
By some great shadow
Nearby me.
On that gray-wintered day,
While I sat in the park,
A young girl as death
And I talked.
Though she spoke not a word,
She showed me my path.
I know what I want in life,
What I can have.
And so before she comes again,
If I do everything right,
I can live a just
And fulfilling life.
Death may come,
And death may go.
But never a footprint
Has she left in the gray-wintered snow.