The flower greets the new day with
   petals opening to the summer breeze.
Innocent is the flower whose
   petals are envied by all others.

The flower stands alone with
   petals welcoming bird and insect.
It is the mother and father whose
   petals fly away with the children to play.

The warm summer breeze lifting these
   petals higher and farther than ever before.
They are helpless and must rely
   on the warm breeze to carry them.

Soon, the petals begin to lose color,
   They begin to fade and fall
Towards the earth again
   Where birth and death unite.

Lives that have been lived
   are not forgotten
Memories remain forever
   in the absence of thought
Moving pictures they are
   of distant voices
Forever echoing the
   expanding void.

We must not forget
   the laughter and love
That once cosumed our
   hearts, that lay above
The darkened streets
   of anger and pain.
Give eternal life to love
   let death fall like rain.

Across the crowded room I see her there
With bright blue eyes and golden hair.
The light shines on her delicate face.
Gazing at her, my heart quickens its pace.

I plan to ask her out on the town
Hoping my appearance won't let me down.

Turning to the barkeep I order a drink,
Trying to recall that missing link.
I dab on cologne that will make her adore me,
Grabbing a notepad jotting a few lines of poetry.

"Please come with me to my house on the shore
Where we could wine and dine forever more.
To greater heights our lives will ascent,
Loving each other till the end."

I turn around and notice she's not there
But I catch another giving me a wide-eyed stare.

She has hair like Medusa and a drooping face
Coming this way making a feverish chase.
I retreat to my position hoping she'll go away
Sipping my drink my body starts to sway.

I glance in the mirror that hangs on the wall
And see that monster nearly eight feet tall!

There she remains with eyes glowing red.
I wish this was a dream; laying in my bed.
I twist just slightly to see if she's truly that size.
I realize I'm staring into those sparkling blue eyes.

Choking, I wash down the remains of my drink,
Stunned by the beauty of the woman in mink.

I stagger to my feet adjusting my silk-laden tie
Thinking of giving it one more desperate try.
She gives me her hand and I kiss it gently
Hoping this moment will last for eternity.

I stare at her face and something's not right.
I assume it's the room dimmed with the light.

She snatches my hand, whispering, "Let's go for a walk."
I state, "It's too cold, lets stay and talk."
She rambles on that if I come,, she'll give me more.
More of what? I begin to think, following her through the door.

I grab my coat, heading out into the night.
The cool air sending an ice-chilling fright
Throughout my bones with an endless hunger.
This woman's presence forever lingers.

Startled! I hear a hissing noise that sounds familiar
Of snakes that I remember quite particular.

When I first saw that lady monster just before,
It reminded me of some ancient folklore.
Abruptly I stop, thinking it my imagination.
Facing her, she stares with such fascination.

Displaying that face and hell-sheering laughter!
I try evading the gaze, can't escape from her.

Suddenly, I feel an agonizing pain in my feet
And peer down, astonished, they're cemented to the street!
How could this happen to a guy like me?
This is not the night I hoped it would be.

"Unbelievable!", shrieking as the rock forms up my leg.

Looking up at Medusa I start to beg,

Now aware that I could do nothing else

But stand here changing into a statue of myself.

Waiting by the telephone, waiting for the call.
Should be doing something, anything at all.

I waste my time waiting, I waste my time hoping.
This girl I like the best, same as all the rest.

They tease and lie, I know.
They cheat and talk, it shows.
What's a guy to do?
What must I do?

"Drop this girl" they say. "She's not your type.
Another will come your way. She'll make things right."

But I know better. They're all the same to me.
If a girl wants me, she'd call me right away,
Instead of me waiting, waiting every day.

They hold us back and tear us apart
Treating us like rats in a maze.
We can run but cannot hide
Freedom lost in the haze.

No escape from the tyranny above
No key to open the door below.
If we're lucky to see the light of day
Then I'll show you the way to go.

   You've got to turn your head.
   You've got to open your eyes.
   And search for the answer
   That runs deep inside.
   Once the pain is gone
   It should come as no surprise
   That if you want to live
   You've got to open your eyes.

Chaining us up, no chance of escape,
Prisoners within ourselves.
We try to run, and try to lie
From the truth that lays inside.

This truth whether good or bad
Must rise to the surface if we're to live.
Because in the end all we have
Is the love we give and receive.

I've had many dreams
Of the person I wanted to be,
But they say, "Stick to your heart,
And don't change a thing."

It's hard to live up to something
When you know it has to change.
I cry at the thought of losing myself
In life's precious game.

If I win or lose it doesn't matter.
They say, "It's how you play the game."
The rules are made up as you go along,
And each day is never the same.

What happens when the game has ended
And your body's laid to rest?
All you do is pick up the pieces
And start the game again.

The words don't come easy,
The words are hard to find.
They are hidden in this despair
That has taken my mind.

The words are nothing more
Than the flow of ink on paper.
No meaning behind it all,
A jumble of thoughts are all they are.

Why continue if there's no truth in it.
Rather just something to do to pass
The time that has been moving slowly
Since the first breath of the day.

They say write what you know.
I suppose this mind has nothing
More to say than to keep the pen
Moving and let the words be as it may.

Break out of these chains. Hold on to the reins.
Don't let them keep you again. Help free the slain.

Hiding in the past. Never looking back.
Memories he soon forgets. Lost time he regrets.

Comrades scream in vain at the man without a name.
Following his every move; his life is theirs to lose.

Like a captain of a sinking ship, a soldier with an ailing hip.
He must forget his pain and show these men the way.

          Never will he see the light of day again
          Never will he breathe this air again
          His destiny is to die a hero
          A hero without a name.

Listen closely,
   The wind through the trees,
   Branches crackling against the bitter cold
   Their cries fall on deaf ears.

Do you see their pain,
   As their loved ones fall
   Helplessly to the ground below.

The time for them has been cut short.
   Their mother, "nature", has decided
   It is time to unite, with
   The ones that have fallen before.

Stories will be told, of laughter and love
   That once adorned at the very feet
   At where they once stood.

Their memories will not be forgotten,
   It will be carried by the wind,
   So that others will feel again,
   At one time they felt before.

Moonlit shadows dance upon the water's edge
Searching for a place to call home.
They've lost their way
Slowly moving here and there,
Living in a state of unrest.

Born each night, only to be devoured
by the morning sun.
They accept this fate
For they are shadows of the night.

Moving helplessly across the water
Never reaching where they need to be.
They cannot escape the moon's might grasp.
So here they remain,

                      Shadows of the Night.

Running from the animal inside
I know I cannot hide.
I must find a place tonight
Where sleeping dogs lie.
It lives inside my head,
And lets me cry instead.
I feel the pain it gives,
I have to scream again.

Memories of  yesterday I cannot say,
To where it goes or where it came.
It passes like the prairie wind
And then it happens again.
I must clear my mind,
Put the voices to rest.
Take away the whispers,
My name, let me not forget.

Will the voices ever go away?
Will anybody ever see the pain?
Will I live or will I die?
Who's to know, Who's to say?

Too many questions unanswered,
In my live forever.
I have to stop this insanity
And bring it all together.

Nothing resolved
Nothing gained
I'm lost in the rain
To die a lonely man.
A man without a name.

Walking in a daze across the room
I stumble upon my shadow
Whose only purpose is to cling to me
Wherever I choose to go.

My only freedom from my devoted friend
Is when I close my eyes to sleep.
There, I find a solace
I forever long to keep.

To be free from my special friend
Is a dream I hope comes true.
When the time comes to make a choice
I know I'll make the right one too.

I know I don't want to be alone
I know right from wrong.
If my shadow is my only friend
Then I hope we'll get along.

I know in the event of my death
My shadow will be there for me.
A friend who's always been there,
And a friend he'll always be.

Roses from yesterday have almost wilted away
But our friendship will never end.
The years may go by; the years may fade away
But we'll always make amends.

          If the tides of change should bring us together again
          We'll reminisce about the past
          Retrieving the memories long since forgotten.
          This moment won't be the last.

                    Just remember the times we share together
                    And the times that we're apart.
                    Hope that we'll never lose each other
                    When we're lost in the dark.