Too Great a Price

I danced a dance
Scripted by others.
I played the game
Laid out for me.
I chose the road
Of least resistance,
Covered my eyes
For the sake of me.

Who betrayed whom may never be clear.
The stories told are fictions from fear.
My dance is now over, and I am to blame;
Murdered for living, exposing our shame.

Cry if you have to.
Scream if you will.
Declare the ship floating
The cruise on due course.
But I from the bottom
Of this faceless ocean
Woke to the dance
And swam for my life.

Myths and illusions cloud with such clarity,
Certain of all we have no way to know.
But when the soul cries for more than right polity,
A scandalous evil threatens the show.

Jump through the hoop.
Tickle my fancy.
Your self-esteem
Is now in my hands.
But wait just a minute,
The words are all empty.
It’s a beautiful dream
Built on nothing but sand.

These graying temples are weary of dancing.
Sustaining illusions exacts too great a price.
Time to make choices, live freely, act boldly;
Such going named leaving by paralyzed mice.

There’s nothing to say when there’s so much to be.
My confession of death has created new life.
Painful the memory of shattered illusions,
Hope-filled the prospect of authentic lived life.