Laughter

Oh come to me in shades of grey
 For all extremes have had their day
 The shifting mist of compromise is nigh
 Between the love and shame I hold
 I see a rusted rose unfold
 Beneath the soft, forgiving, endless sky
 As on my knees I offer joy
 To all who would my gifts employ
 The world falls inward on my naked eye
 And shades of greyness coalesce
 There is no more, there is no less
 A scream becomes a moan becomes a sigh
 And you know where all the hope may go
 When we give up our ghosts and say goodbye
 And I know why we should never show
 What happens to our laughter when we die
 Oh give my arms to one who cares
 My heart I'll hold; I have no spare
 To risk on some poor knave without a soul
 To all who follow in my wake
 I leave these words for pity's sake
 Please use them well or use them not at all
 And you know where all the hope may go
 When we give up our ghosts and say goodbye
 And I know why we should never show
 What happens to our laughter when we lie
 And overhead our thoughts cascade in some great mindless masquerade
 And on we dance
 The deathly pace of our cortege
 will give give the hopeful heart of rage
 A second chance
 A second glance
 No more
 For you and I must never cease
 To war against ignoble peace
 Which takes our laughter whole and leaves us dry
 As once we live, just once we leave
 No more to dance, no more to breathe
 No more to drink the endless, searching sky