You were a young pretender

on a mad bender

trying to protect a crown not of your own.

Alone you stood

as mountains of gold turned to dust and rust

You tried to gain your bread, your crust

but the skin the flesh grows weak.

Holy bread can sustain you cried the Christians

manna from heaven cried the Jews

the Buddhists said you have the freedom to choose

but you hurt you bruise if you don’t defend yourself you’ll lose

Cried the pragmatist the soldier inside yourself.

As your personalities collided with themselves

and the books lining your shelves

gave answers to which you didn’t adhere

God tried to answer but you didn’t hear

With the voices in your head talking their bad advice.

They gave their scorn and left you forlorn.

Sitting outside the church of the unforgiven

Where they see you as a vampire and you feel like you

have stake driven through your heart.

your dreams collapse and fall apart

like they weren’t real from the start.

Like everything to which you gave a dam

Fell away in the sands of time

But at least you lived!