Tired eyes close, as youthful eyes open wider than ever,
Taking in the bright world, with its beauty and wonder,
Every step a new experience, every breath a new purpose,
With blinding light and naivety.

Living, loving,
Thinking, learning.

Beginning to speak with precision and tact,
Letting a voice carry through the fog,
Color splits the misty world,
As love envelops every sense.

As it comes, however,
The light darkens.

Disenchanted with glory,
Spitting out the lost dreams of comic book heroes and video games,
Quenching the cold, dying embers of childhood,
That cry to the world to ***** them out.

Losing hope, going numb,
Feeling nothing.

Waking up... shedding fear, being reborn,
Spreading the wings of a new life,
Seeing a different light, a new fire,
Brighter than the old.

The colors of the world change,
The glistening light fades into a tired contentment.

Watching the world through calm, weary eyes,
Wiser now, witnessing the passing time with the gaze of long life,
A creaking smile, as the light shines more profoundly than ever,
Tired eyes close, as youthful eyes open wider than ever.

Pain fades to dust, and dust to dust,
As all else shines with indescribable beauty.

Fearing not of death, but of yearning for that which has passed,
And for that which was missed.