reason for life

the silent sound of tortured cries
flow past my mind in times gone by
of hopes and dreams and friends and foes
of promises made and stories told

each one a soul that longs to hear
a comforting word of honest cheer
that no one seems to want to share
despite the loads that we all bear

we talk we laugh we jeer we cry
and lil by lil we start to die
a mask beneath a mask we live
unwilling to see life as it is

we stumble we break we crawl we pray
yet no one seems to know our name
alone, bereft, akin to none
our holes we dig to hide alone

what foolish lives of secret things
we hold ourselves to while we breathe
and yet when all returns at last
naught remains, for all is dust.

so listen young one while you may
listen to words which no one says
hear them with your heart and eyes
and give them light, before they die.