Fade Away

What black cloud is this that sours the sweet wine of life?
What can make a world once so warm seem so cold and bleak?
I look at my life through eyes gone blind with loneliness
My heart encased by walls of my own careful construction
Slowly I am closing myself away from the light of day
And building a fortress in my mind in which to take shelter
Where once burned a bright flame within my breast
Now sits a lifeless lump without a hint of warmth
The chill spreads a little more with each passing hour
Every moment a small piece of me crumbles and falls away
Soon, what was once a man will be nothing but a shell
I can honestly say that I am no longer afraid
I am only terribly and incredibly sad
I grieve for the plans which will never reach fruition
I weep for the death of dreams I have long since forgotten
I rage over the childhood stolen away before it started
I long for the strength of will I never had
I will never lose my desire for life because a coward I am not
But the enjoyment of that life must be left to others
Because I have lost mine in the storm which sweeps my soul