The world below's a distant haze.
Forgotten paths that once were clear
Now swallowed by the endless maze,
Of stone and sky; so cold. Severe.

Each step a test of heart and bone -
Doubts echo round the jagged lines.
A battle wrought in flesh and stone
Where fear and strength congeal. Entwine.

With quiet breath I lead the ledge.
A fragile truth in granite's found
As fingertips cling to the edge
And lifts a soul no longer bound.

My heart is lifted as I send.
My demons to a passing end.

All dressed in white as shadows merge and flow.
A moulinet took you off-guard as the
Sabre cut lands clean upon your torso.
No chance to disengage. No time to flee.

I glance at you after your hair was free -
Cascading down your shoulders - from your mask.
What words to be my beat? What test worthy?
A clumsy lunge? A point-in-line? Both ask

Beyond my skill. Parry-riposte - a task
I assume easy for others but not
For me. But I advance - off-piste - and bask
In confidence created out of naught.

A feint. A moulinet. And then retreat.
I did not win a match but I weren't beat.

The river weaves through crowds
As lithe limbs chase summer breezes -
Only one blossoms gold.

The rain came down as I said goodbye.
Looking out across a crowded room
Crumpled paper in my hand. I hold myself
Together as I fight back tears.

Looking out across a crowded room.
I miss your hand on my shoulder but know we are
Together as I fight back tears.
I wish I knew then what I know now.

I miss your hand on my shoulder but know we are
Both struggling to fill our roles.
I wish I knew then what I know now -
Becoming Dad is harder than I could have known.

Both struggling to fill out roles,
I felt the shadow of generations before.
Becoming Dad is harder than I could have known.
Little did I know the shoulders I was stood on.

I felt the shadow of generations before.
You provided the courage to light a new path.
Little did I know the shoulders I was stood on
And how I missed them when they were gone.

You provided the courage to light a new path.
Connected to strangers by the love of you.
And how I missed them when they were gone.
I miss you more.

Connected to strangers by the love of you,
The rain came down as I said goodbye.
I miss you more.
Crumpled paper in my hand. I hold myself.

Another embrace. Then you ran from me
To new friends. You laughed.
You turn. Smile. Wave. Flee
Another embrace. Then you ran from me.

You look like her. I can't forget she
Turned from me too. Her lies would craft
Another embrace. Then she ran from me
To new friends. She laughed.

In shadows where the streetlight wanes,
A figure lies alone. Aware
Of life's relentless, quiet pains:
The ticking clock, The passing trains,
The empty space next to him there...

He reflects on daily strifes
In rooms where silence nearly reigns.
Reflecting on a fleeting life.
The moment's lost. The subtle knife,
That carves his heart with gentle strain

It once again marks down your name.

A lilac smear of light reflects upon the pane
Of glass, obscuring features of your face. The sound of rain
Knocking on the window calms and soothes my nerves
But it reminds me of the tears I once deserved.
Or, at least, those I thought I had earned once again.

- I can't see you now - your face is just a blur.
Or is the memory I stored not real? A tale
Sold to me to sweeten up the deal. To err
Just for one second could have evened up the scale
And stopped the glass from breaking once again. I feign

Indifference. Swallowed by the seas my heart
Is blanketed in it's beds - sunken to new depths.
You plunged new lows and they enveloped me.
I shatter now. And the shards scar my
Heart.