The Rites of Time

(2001)

The days go by, on and on;
A feeling of emptiness
And the echo of long-suppressed dreams-
Reality stares you in the face,
Shakes you out of your slumber
And shatters those dreams to smithereens.

A series of compromises
Throughout the day;
You ask yourself-
“Is this really me,
Or is this a masquerading imposter?”

Where are those dreams of beauty,
Of love that would not die
Of living that would benefit others,
Of a world where all are happy
And tears exist only in the imagination?

The infant grows into a child,
The child grows older
And he learns to love;
Does the adult that grows further on
Learn only to dislike?

To deceive, to destroy?
To compare, to imitate?
To have his tranquility shattered
By a world that rushes past
Without so much as saying 'hello'?

Optimism turns to cynicism,
The burden of the years catch up
And you look back in anger
At what could have been,
At what has been lost.

And yet the days go by, on and on-
Till you find it has all gone forever.