My innocence and joy, thriving and burning brightly
Beaming like the sun, then flickering like a flame
Slowly dies down to embers
Smolders, wanes.

My laughter and hope, spirited and whirling wildly
Astir like an ocean, then grows steadily tame
Becomes languid and lazy
Stills, drains.

My ambitions and dreams, alive and beating fiercely
They thrum like a heart, then turn tired and lame
Lose their pulse and fade away
Bleed, stain.

I can taste your misery, and it's killing me.