A Semblance of Humanity

there was a time when i smiled

and laughed and danced with friends

when thoughts raced through my mind

at such an impossible speed that

i could not find the time to keep up.

when everyone was a friend,

even when they proved themselves enemy.

when i forgave cruelty and heartlessness,

and walked onward as if nothing

could ever hurt me.

and then the sun rose, and i awoke.

ten years passed and i was alone.

no friends; an empty mess of a home.

no thoughts racing across my mind,

dancing along the edges of

my imagination to taunt my muse

with stories galore to fill my nights.

just an abyss in my head

numb and pulling it all in.

no touch, no love, no thoughts.

no laughter, no hugs, no friends.

no sun on my skin, or dirt

beneath my fingernails.

a fight to be fought just to think,

a fear to overcome just to love,

an anger to outweigh just to live.

and here i am.

a shell.

a meat suit encasing a broken mind.

nothing left, nothing left behind.

just an echo across my heart and soul,

of a memory of a child,

broken and shivering and cold,

lost and alone in the blackness,

fading into the night.