---

With trepedation and a sense of unease

I knew my presence would not be welcome

But it cut deep, along with your manner

This was neither first nor last in disregard

A maternal crutch tempered by paternal heart

The feminine drew your soul to blackness

Naked in feigned shock, teased by her

She fed me lies and was gone by morning

Three quarters gone and lost in my journey

No memory of what might have transpired

You say you want space on the hunt

But you come running when bruised and alone

I tried so hard to see past the veneer

But there was no depth to be found

Sometimes what you see is all that is there

And you, my friend, are transparent

Alone I walk on your grounds

How many years has it been?

Sometimes I wonder if you're just a figment

Of an imagination trapped in reality

The pictures show smiles hiding anger

A trapped bird waiting to be freed

Once the cage was opened you felt betrayed

When the open sky promised a better world