And what we once were is gone.
Distant memories they end up now
Trickling steadily through holes we never saw;
After embarking with handfuls of hope and preparation,
We can grasp now only at single grains;
Yes, we have pictures but they are flat,
Yes, we have words but they are no longer our own;
Yes, they are here but we are not.
And what we once were is gone.
And what we once were is gone.
Bludgeoned by a ferocious present
Our past cowers shamefully to anywhere but here;
The words leaving my mouth as if near death,
Each syllable weaker, losing too much blood;
Every passing day now beats us,
Both defeating and clubbing us through;
Words exchanged become weapons;
And what we once were is gone.
And what we once were is gone.
All these things no longer seem real
Or tug at our hearts like beckoning children;
Where love once was there is not now hate
But only an absence of such love;
So let us scream and wail at adulthood,
Homeless adulthood, and cancerous adulthood;
Let us fight love until it fights back,
And what we once were is gone.
