She softly whispers to her love
Who lay beside her in the bed
"I love to watch you sleep my prince"
As she gently kisses his head

"I love the way you always smile,
Before that little white lie"
"You knew you couldn't fool me
But it was fun to watch you try"

"I love to watch you try to dance
Though rhythm, you have none"
"I couldn't bear to break your heart
'Cause you were having so much fun"

"I love the Father that you became
The kids were your pride and joy"
"You were the happiest man in the whole wide world
With your little girl and boy"

She softly whispers to her love
As she slowly starts to weep
The coroner comes to take him away
For he died last night in his sleep

The poet waits for his muse to arrive
His words are in disarray
He tries his best to right them down
But doesn't know what to say

He feels the words inside his heart
But his quill is barely used
He wants the words to bring him peace
But his words have all refused

Then inspiration slowly arrives
To put his words in place
She whispers the words he needs to say
As he writes her words with grace

The poet slowly writes his pain
His muse close by his side
Without his muse his words are lost
Though many a poet has tried

They call this place a writer's block
And the poet will always lose
But inspiration will never come
When we write without our muse

In the spring you're my flower
As your perfume fills the air
Your angelic beauty is the reason
All the people stop to stare

In the summer you're the reflection
In a cool clear mountain lake
Your warm smile in the morning
Will cause the sun to wake

In the autumn you're the breath of fall
That whispers to the trees
Your voice is so enchanting
The trees divorce their leaves

In the winter you're the snowflake
You're simply one of a kind
You melt my heart as I melt yours
That's truly hard to find

I guess the season I love the most
And you're the only reason
More than Summer, Spring, Winter or Fall
You're my favorite season

My wife said to embrace my feminine side
So I thought I'd give it a whirl
And though I said I'll do my best
I don't make a very good girl

So I tried my hand at cooking
And now the chicken is crispy and black
The laundry was just my first attempt
And it almost broke my back

I even took a bubble bath
With candles on the side of the tub
But when I tried to shave my legs
The only thing left was a nub

And even though I must admit
I look pretty **** good in a dress
Those dadgum ***** hose were cramping my style
As you can probably already guess

That make-up made me feel kinda funny
And made me look just a little bit weird
I think it clashed with the leftover breakfast
That was hanging out inside my beard

My wife said I made an ugly girl
And she laughed so hard she cried
She said she'd never ask me again
To embrace my feminine side

A mistress has found her way to my heart
With a love I cannot shake
I knew it was love right from the start
She often keeps me awake

She's on my mind both night and day
Her mystery fills me with glee
Each time she leaves I want her to stay
She's becoming a part of me

My wife just watches with a distant stare
For she knows she could never compete
She feels my love and she's willing to share
For my mistress makes me complete

She's been around for thousands of years
But things grow sweeter with age
They don't understand especially my peers
They question the words on this page

Guilt, I have none, for it's not what you think
And though you think it absurd
For my mistress is made entirely of ink
My mistress, the written word

My passion has become my pain
I ache to hold you tight
My days are long, no longer short
And lonely is my night

When you're not here my heart will break
It's mended by your touch
They say it's the way it's supposed to be
But I miss you way too much

I'm crippled when you say good bye
And seal it with a kiss
It reminds me of the things I've lost
And what I'm going to miss

I didn't know that love could hurt
But I guess it always will
A two way street that's good and bad
One we all must feel

My passion has become my pain
Divided by a line
The only peace that makes it right
Is knowing you are mine

Why dost thou tempt me so?
Doth my protest go unheard?
'Tis thy smile I've come to know
Temptation without a word

Your glances feed my soul
Each day as you walk by
My hunger I can't console
Growing weak as you draw nigh

You feed this fire that burns within
But yet you're out of reach
I watch this blessing turn to sin
A place my heart can't breach

Alas, I turn and look away
Still knowing you are there
I cannot bare to look your way
A moment we can't share

I feel your stare as you walk by
I hide my adoration
But when you're gone I softly sigh
Consumed by my temptation

Though forever seemed so far away
A promise that we both chose
We'd follow the rules that life demands
And see how far it goes

To live on love, our only plan
How could we go wrong?
As each day passed we grew apart
Forever's not that long

A million kisses gone to waste
The product of a lie
Love's a gift that's made to last
It's not supposed to die

We tried our best to see it through
To rewrite history
But now each time they write of love
It won't mention you and me

Though legend we were meant to be
We'll ever be remembered with
The likes of Romeo and Juliet
Forever just a myth

Beneath the wings of hope's sweet kiss
I breathe once more to feel
But hidden deep within the scars
Lie shadows that I conceal

I try my best to name my pain
But sorrow doesn't fit
It screams each day for me to hear
Though nameless, it will not quit

I try to rise above the noise
But I cannot heal this sore
An empty heart of deja vu
I've seen this place before

A bitter rose will cover my grave
Its petals not quite right
The angel that I should have seen
Has already taken flight

All my memories fade away
I leave the way I came
There's no one here to remember me
No one knows my name

I hide my screams so no one hears
A breath is all it takes
I swallow all my loneliness
I hate the sound it makes

My heart keeps beating I don't know why
I know I'm dead inside
My tears won't fall there's nothing there
My pain has somehow dried

The mirror no longer looks at me
I hide my face in shame
It's me that made myself this way
I fully take the blame

Death won't even call my name
I'm not worth his time
I cannot hate what doesn't exist
My existance is a crime

One more day I have to breathe
I'm not worth the trouble it takes
Oxygen to me is only temptation
For one of nature's mistakes

A poem should touch the inner core
Where feelings are only found
A place that you alone can see
Where love and hate abound

A poem is a tear before you cry
Or a smile before you feel
A little pain your being craves
Before your heart can heal

A poem is a memory cast aside
Before your mind is free
It's often dreams that's left behind
A misplaced destiny

A poem is what you feel inside
That makes you who you are
A poem is written with tears and blood
To mend that endless scar

A poem is felt before the words
And can cause your soul to bleed
A poem is never a state of mind
But a never ending need

I dreamed last night you cheated
You didn't even try to lie
When I said, "I felt defeated"
You wouldn't even ask me why

I dreamed I said, "I Love you"
You just turned and walked away
I said, "Tell me what I need to do"
You had nothing else to say

I dreamed you packed up everything
And headed toward the door
You offered me your wedding ring
Then tossed in on the floor

I dreamed I begged you not to go
But you never heard my plea
I said, "What'd I do?, please let me know"
You said you're done with me

A dream can drag you in too deep
There's no help when you fall
But that's the night I couldn't sleep
It wasn't a dream at all

A disease I've found that can't be cured
Contagious, to one and all
Your knees grow weak, your speech is slurred
Some say you even fall

It will rob you of all your memories
You can't even remember your name
Though some don't take it seriously
And been known to call it a game

It will cause you to do things you just don't do
It will literally control your mind
It can even cause you to lose your sleep
A disease that makes you blind

It will cause you to lose your appetite
Your food won't taste the same
You'll wonder why you just can't eat
This disease is surely the blame

Well, maybe by now you've figured it out
This disease I'm speaking of
The only sickness that has no cure
Is the one that we call Love

A shadow of imperfection
Sorrow caught in a jar
An empty space filled with doubt
The heart of a falling star

A cry heard by no one
An ember, once a flame
A teardrop without a reason
A puddle filled with blame

An answer without a question
A silent lonely stare
A hand reaching for nothing
No one's standing there

A mirror with no reflection
A heart, cracked and worn
Today without tomorrow
A soul that's withered and torn

A blade colored in crimson
Without a reason why
Nothing can stop the bleeding
No one to tell goodbye

Your love is like a foggy mist
That fades into the night
Or maybe the darkness that runs away
When it sees the morning light

It's somewhere in the middle
Hidden, between good and bad
I just couldn't tell the difference
For it was all I ever had

You didn't know commitment
It was a word you never used
When I asked for reassurance
You just silently refused

When I told you that I love you
You could only say, "Me too"
When I told you of my problems
You'd say, "Whatever you wanna do"

I've finally learned my lesson
Though this decision I've made is tough
If this is truly what you call love
It's just simply not enough

What kind of poem should I write today?
May something that makes you cry
Or maybe I'll write of happy things
So no one will have to die

Maybe I'll write of a love gone bad
Of broken hearts and dreams
Or maybe I'll write of nightmares
Where darkness is filled with screams

Maybe I'll write a political prose
Where everyone has a voice
Or maybe I'll write of abortion
Pro life or maybe pro choice

Maybe I'll write of memories
That fade away through time
Or maybe I'll write a sonnet of love
Where heartbeats always rhyme

What kind of poem should I write today?
Maybe the seasons, the coming of fall
Or maybe I'll keep my feelings inside
And just write nothing at all

If I could write like Edgar Allen Poe
Then everyone would know my name
Or maybe paint like Da Vinci
I would surely know his fame

But I don't have any life changing words
Or paintings to hang on the walls
They'll be no hall of fame for me
Or any other famous halls

If I could tell a captivating story
Like the stories that Mark Twain told
The things I'd write would be on display
And be worth their weight in gold

Or compose like Wolfgang Mozart
My music would be admired for years
A piece of history that will last forever
A legacy that never disappears

But if I were like any one of these here
Then my work would go unheard
And then who would tell my life's story
As my soul gives birth to word

Sometimes in November
When the sun is sitting high
A warm Fall breeze will steal the leaves
And cause the trees to cry

Sometimes in November
A butterfly will appear
A cherished thought, a battle fought
For one you loved so dear

Sometimes in November
A daughter will pass away
You wallow in grief, seek relief
And then you learn to pray

Sometimes in November
An angel gets its wings
It's good and bad but always sad
Both joy and pain this brings

Sometimes in November
A family must say goodbye
As Heaven awaits to open its gates
To November's butterfly

I can no longer think, eat or sleep
Even my thoughts seem to stutter
Captivated by your radiant smile
And by every word you utter

I'm trapped by my wishful thinking
Wishing you will someday be mine
I see visions of happy endings
That were formed by Heaven's design

My love for you is now malignant
Growing stronger each waking day
I no longer have a sense of direction
Your perfection causes my reason to stray

The person I was has somehow vanished
Tomorrow's become where ever you lead
My wants and desires have all disappeared
And filled with this thing that I need

I'm lost in a world that no longer matters
And this is my heart's true confession
I'm not me and you're not you
You're simply my heart's obsession

He loved her from the day he met her
New love at its best
A love that stands the test of time
And every other test

They decided at a very young age
To walk together through life
Promises made, that he tried to keep
As he made this woman his wife

The years went by as their eyes grew dim
But the love was there to stay
Their new love becomes their old love
As their hair starts turning gray

Each morning he tells her, "I love you"
And again, before he goes to sleep
While keeping all of the promises
That he pledged that he would keep

Their old love becomes their new love
Each morning when they awake
For when old love turns to new love
It's impossible to break

She went to the dentist for her routine exam
When she heard him say, "Oops! I'm sorry ma'am!"
That got her to thinking, "What had he seen?"
She thought, "What on earth could 'Oops' really mean?"
She sat right there and didn't make a sound
But when he wasn't looking, she was looking around
"What did he know, was it life or death?"
So she finally asked him, as she took a deep breath
He said, "I'm sorry, Dear. I didn't mean to be rude,
But with the stubble on your chin, I thought you were a dude!"

What is poetry? I've heard it said
It's something you can feel
A thousand thoughts caught in your head
That causes our souls to heal

It's never about a pretty word
Or even the poet's style
It's about a moment we've lived or heard
That always makes us smile

It's something hidden deep inside
That we need the world to see
Or maybe a pain that we can't hide
Once written will set us free

A poem is maybe a dream we've chased
A dream we've never caught
A poem is all the trials we've faced
Memories that can't be bought

A poem is never right or wrong
Sometimes it heals a scar
Sometimes it's called our spirit's song
It's part of who we are

My breath somehow forsakes me
It will not whisper your name
My heart says I'm unworthy
It cannot ignite this flame

My soul cries out for recognition
But my lips won't let me smile
Tempted by your heavenly beauty
But captive to denial

My dreams filled with your vision
I dare not close my eyes
Everytime you pass me by
Another piece of me dies

I am but a simple man
And you, a goddess of desire
A treasure meant to entice my soul
One I can't acquire

How much longer must I suffer
How long will my soul beseech
Alas, I turn and walk away
For you're simply out of reach

Poets will try to hide their pain
Where tears will go unseen
They'll hide the countless demons slain
With words they find serene

Emotion will always find their sleeves
It's part of who they are
A special way the poet grieves
To mend that hidden scar

A poet is lost until they're found
They just can't find their way
A silent scream without a sound
Will chase their pain away

A poet is made of different stuff
They're not like all the rest
Peace, they never seem to have enough
Until their sin's confessed

They're haunted by their need to write
Their ink made to console
For most are prisoners to the night
And they're born with a paper soul

Poets will try to hide their pain
Where tears will go unseen
They'll hide the countless demons slain
With words they find serene

Emotion will always find their sleeves
It's part of who they are
A special way the poet grieves
To mend that hidden scar

A poet is lost until they're found
They just can't find their way
A silent scream without a sound
Will chase their pain away

A poet is made of different stuff
They're not like all the rest
Peace, they never seem to have enough
Until their sin's confessed

They're haunted by their need to write
Their ink made to console
For most are prisoners to the night
And they're born with a paper soul

I whisper outloud my love for you
You can see it in my eyes
My heart will tell them what to say
Your smile becomes their pirze

My lips imprison my unused words
Words I can't deny
I scream I love you with my smile
Each morning as you pass by

A love I know I'll never touch
A love I'll never hold
But I'll keep your love inside my heart
As I watch the years unfold

Although you carry another man's name
In silence I'll stand in line
I see the way he looks at you
I know you'll never be mine

And if it's a sin to love like this
Then I guess I'll take my chances
For I'll love you 'til the day I die
If only in passing glances

The distant sounds of silent screams
Echo through my soul
A nightmare filled with broken dreams
That time cannot console

My helpless mind will not yield
To these voices that I hear
My captive thoughts have not revealed
The purpose of my fear

Loneliness mocks my very being
As time comes screeching to a halt
Blame still hides my eyes from seeing
Insisting it's not my fault

They say I'm mad, mad indeed
They know nothing of my pain
There's no one here to intercede
So this madness must remain

My soul cries out in sad remorse
But I fear it's already too late
I cannot alter this dreadful course
That somehow holds my fate

They call me a poet, poet indeed
How is it they do not know?
Can't they see the words I bleed?
I'm Edgar Allan Poe

Awakened by the hand of dread
An apprentice to the night
She pulls me from my chamber bed
And forces me to write

My mind still captive to my sleep
I do not understand
Clutching my quill, my fingers weep
It does not know my hand

A whisper slowly fills my soul
My quill now feels at ease
For I'm no longer in control
I write from my disease

Infected words now fill my quill
To spread a rancid lie
My paper silent and feeling ill
As pieces of it die

Dread no longer holds me tight
As her icy fingers release
She disappears into the night
And hands me back my peace

Who shall lament at my demise
When this world below I leave?
Who bears proof with blood-shot eyes?
Will one among you grieve?

Who will stand when I cannot
To trumpet deeds I've done?
Am I the one that time forgot
The name that people shun?

Who will walk me to my grave
And mark the place I lay?
Will one step forth, he who's brave
One strong enough to pray?

The seeds I've sown have fell in vain
For the darkness steals the light
They'll simply say, "He was insane"
Because of things I write

If not one tear shall fall for me
The world will one day know
I need not your sympathy
For I am Edgar Allen Poe

Virginia walks where I cannot
The angels know her name
Where my name was is now a blot
My muse hands me the blame

I whisper love, she does not hear
She knows my heart tells lies
She listens with a cautious ear
And sees through my disguise

I try but cannot feel her pain
A mistress she shall stay
I try my best but can't explain
The demons I must slay

She hides my sin to no avail
The truth cuts like a knife
She knows that she will only fail
Name only, she's my wife

A mistress she will always be
I know it seems absurd
She'll ever be in love with me
But my love is the word

I wanted to believed in fairy tales
I hoped that dreams come true
I thought happy endings were real
Until the day that I met you

I thought I was your Prince Charming
And you, my Snow White bride
But who ever wrote our story of love
Was a little preoccupied

Because the story was never finished
We were loving from day to day
There wasn't a happily ever after
We didn't turn out that way

Like clouds in the sky, we drifted apart
Carried in different directions
Like ripples on a clear mountain stream
No more than broken reflections

I used to believe in fairy tales
But there is no happy ending
We turned out like all of the rest
With both of us pretending

Life is like a runaway train
Never knowing where it may lead
The curves in the track can't slow us down
For there's no way to adjust the speed

The twists and turns are enlightening
And some make a wonderful surprise
While others are sorrow and heartache
Just broken promises and lies

Though we've never seen the conductor
Our tickets have already been taken
We take our seats and close our eyes
But we never get used to the shakin'

Though we have no sure destination
We marvel at every turn
The scenery we see, is pure destiny
As we ponder the things that we learn

This runaway train that we call life
Rides on the tracks of time
And just when we think it will last forever
We reach the end of the line

"Daddy look at all the sandcastles"
"Aren't they all so grand?"
"Who could have known a king and his throne,
Could simply be made out of sand"

"Look at the beautiful towers"
"I wonder if a princess lives there"
"I'll bet she is kind, they're so hard to find,
With beautiful long flowing hair"

My daughter loved to go to the beach
She loved the sandcastles the best
But she didn't know her heart was too slow
And soon they would open her chest

It's funny sometimes how time can fly
It only seems like yesterday
There was a major complication with her operation
And my daughter has passed away

I still go to the beach from time to time
To see the sandcastles on display
I still close my eyes and part of me dies
Each time I hear her say

"Daddy look at all the sandcastles"
"Aren't they all so grand?"
"Who could have known a king and his throne,
Could simply be made out of sand"

She lies in her bed night after night
While crying her satin tears
Her satin pillows, her only comfort
Her husband's been gone for years

He went away to fight in a war
In a far and distant land
He didn't come home like he promised he would
For he died alone in the sand

People would say, "It gets better in time"
But her wounds grow deeper each day
Her scars from a war she didn't even fight
Simply, just won't go away

Those satin pillows retain his smell
But each day his scent grows weak
She holds the pillow close to her heart
As she nestles it with her cheek

She talks to the pillow from time to time
It mostly calms her fears
She cries herself to sleep each night
In a puddle of satin tears

I write with pain and paper
The tears become my ink
I live each day like it's my last
While standing on the brink

My words become my saviour
They tell me where to go
Tomorrow has no meaning
A place I do not know

The paper is my shelter
It hides my past mistakes
My heart will tell me what to say
Before it finally breaks

My soul cries out in sad remorse
But no one hears me cry
No one offers a helping hand
They only pass me by

A poet's words will always scream
Before they disappear
A thousand people will read my verse
But none will truly hear

I write with pain and paper
The tears become my ink
I live each day like it's my last
While standing on the brink

My words become my savior
They tell me where to go
Tomorrow has no meaning
A place I do not know

The paper is my shelter
It hides my past mistakes
My heart will tell me what to say
Before it finally breaks

My soul cries out in sad remorse
But no one hears me cry
No one offers a helping hand
They only pass me by

A poet's words will always scream
Before they disappear
A thousand people will read my verse
But none will truly hear

I think my muse has fallen ill
I've lost my inspiration
I sit alone and grasp my quill
In hopeless anticipation

I scribble lines that make no sense
Only to be erased
The air around me becomes intense
The words I choose, a waste

I cannot choose the words I write
The words, they must choose me
Without my muse my words aren't right
As anyone can see

How can I free my tortured soul,
Without my muse's hand?
The words I choose cannot console
They do not understand

I think my muse has fallen ill
My words have been betrayed
The poems I write I cannot feel
My thoughts have all decayed

I'm living in the shadow
Of the one you left behind
It's me you chose to be with
But it's him that's on your mind

You compare me to the way he was
Yet you never mention his name
But everytime I don't stack up
I'm the one you blame

I see the way you look at me
With that cold and empty stare
Holding me and thinking of him
While wishing you were there

You talk about our future
While living in the past
I tell you how much I love you
You tell me I'm moving too fast

I die a little more each day
Because it's him you're thinking of
It's such a painful way to die
This thing called second hand love

As light envelopes the eastern sky
And scatters in all directions
Darkness is born within the light
In the form of soulless reflections

The light commands the darkness
To hide upon the ground
And to move among the living
Where ever the light is found

The darkness is taught to follow
Whatever the light decrees
And in soulless reproductions
To mimic what it sees

But the darkness has an enemy
That causes it to wane
The light is always washed away
Each time it starts to rain

But when the light regains its place
And shines across the earth
The darkness once again is born
As shadows are given birth

While sitting in a quiet room
My thoughts become so loud
The voices stuck inside my head
Somehow become a crowd

There's no such thing as silence
It's something we can't find
An empty space is just a myth
The noise is in our mind

Whenever you think you're all alone
A memory is by your side
It's something we cannot control
No matter how hard we've tried

Even when we're fast asleep
A dream will share its voice
Hidden things our minds must say
And still we have no choice

Sit for just a minute or two
To see if you resist
Your mind will betray your quiet time
For silence doesn't exist

Cast aside, not fit to be read
Silently collecting dust
Are all the words not good enough
With meanings we didn't trust

Words that were written before their time
Before we found our muse
We tried to write what we felt inside
With the words we shouldn't use

Everybody has a page or two
They try to hide away
Poems written with pure emotion
But we didn't know what to say

Silent words that will never be read
Words without a voice
Words that have a lot to say
But never given a choice

Stuffed in drawers and notebooks
They're laying everywhere
Words that will never be read out loud
Words we'll never share

I want to love you in slow motion
So the world feels our emotion

A love the whole world can see
Frozen in time, just you and me

With a kiss that lasts for days
Witnessed a thousand different ways

Where every second is used
And time itself is confused

'Til eternity gets a new name
Our slow motion love, the blame

I want to love you in slow motion
A frame by frame devotion

She said, "Daddy let's make snow angels,
Before the snow begins to melt"
She couldn't have known how much she'd grown
And the pride that her daddy felt

She was ten years old going on twenty
And her angels were always the best
But I'd let her win just to see her grin
I'll bet you've already guessed

Her angels would always disappear
In the Spring, Summer and Fall
But before Winter came I learned a new name
When leukemia came to call

I would sit with her, beside her bed
As the snow came tumbling down
She said, "Daddy can you see, she's as pretty as can be,
In her beautiful snow white gown

When I looked around the empty room
My little girl closed her eyes
"My snow angel's here" she whispered so dear
And then my little girl dies

She said, "Daddy let's make snow angels,
Before the snow begins to melt"
She couldn't have known how much she'd grown
And the pride that her daddy felt

I sometimes hide inside myself
A place where no one sees
An empty wrong looking for right
Among a barren disease

I ***** my soul to feel alive
It brings no pain nor tears
An indifferent stain, out of touch
It's been this way for years

No echos feed my screams for help
For emotion is just a lie
I see the world in black and black
My eyes, too dead to cry

The smile I wear is my disguise
Although it's never real
It lets me hide the emptiness
And the darkness I conceal

I sometimes hide inside myself
Thank God that you're not there
For you feel pain, joy and love
But I simply cannot care

I've forgotten how I'm supposed to feel
For all I've known is love
The joys of life have passed me by
It's you I'm thinking of

My food no longer tastes the same
Salted with my tears
My hopes and dreams begin to change
Then slowly disappears

I'm trapped in things that used to be
A shadow of my past
A future filled with you and me
That somehow didn't last

How could something so beautiful,
Fade away like mist?
How can love just come and go?
Never to be missed

How can something break my heart,
When it's something I can't touch?
How can something that feels so right.
Always hurt this much?

Filled with different emotions
The letters are carefully chosen
Late at night the poet will write
When time feels like it's frozen

We write about our happy endings
To cover up our pain
We write our grief to feel relief
But our words will never complain

Each letter takes his place in line
On the tip of the poet's quill
His only care is to try to share
An emotion the reader can feel

The letters start to form the words
That's chosen by the muse
Try as he might the words he'll write
There's a few he'll have to reuse

But once the poet lays down his quill
And everythig's been said
His pain will cease and bring him peace
Each time the poem is read

Somewhere beyond the dying embers light
A spark of hope will rescue me
Though the flames are now long since gone
The smoke still sets me free

An eternal flame now forever silenced
But a breeze of redemption blows my way
The darkness steals your name from my lips
But you memory still beckons me stay

The fire still burns within my soul
My breath filled with the ashes of rejection
The love I feel envelopes me whole
'Til the heat has scorched my reflection

Consumed by the flame that warmed my heart
As I burn but will not die
The smoke of regret fills the empty night
As it settles through this hollow sky

A spark of hope is all that I seek
To raise these embers once more
A gentle whisper will ignite the flames
'Til again this fire shall soar

As I peer into my failure
All I find is grief
My hopes and dreams all mired down
Swallowing my relief

An echo slowly follows me
Reminding me of my past
I can't escape my past mistakes
Nor the shadows that I've cast

I dare not beg for mercy
For mercy I gave none
I've traded my forgiveness
For things that I called fun

A trader to my future
My blessings done long spent
My conscience has forsaken me
I know not where it went

The world keeps right on spinning
Filled with endless pain
When I'm gone this place will be
Minus one more stain

I wonder if the wind can hear
The cries from unmarked graves
People taken before their time
Doomed to be death's slaves

Those who've all gone missing
The stolen voices that remain
Trying their best to let us know
The purpose of their pain

They're buried in an barren field
Or under a giant oak tree
The places we pass everyday
With death we cannot see

Voices crying out hidden away
From deep within the ground
Hoping someone finally hears
Hoping they'll soon be found

Stolen voices are every where
The people that time forgot
A few are found and rest in peace
But most of them are not

You said to stop and smell the roses
Each time you pass them by
Don't be in such a hurry
For even roses have to die

A fragrance like no other
A smell your senses consume
A drop of love from up above
A little of Heaven's perfume

It's the flower of perfection
That its stem so gently adorns
Its petals hold such beauty
That they're guarded by its thorns

You said to stop and smell the roses
And for twenty years I've tried
I'm no longer in a hurry
Without you by my side

The roses are a part of me
Knowing the joy they gave
So I stop and smell the roses
As I place them on your grave