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I dreamed a dream

I dreamed a dream, some night when I was asleep, of castles of gold and towers of bronze. I saw trees that never lost their fruit and hills whose ice never yielded to the heat. I dreamed of a sun that never went down and playtime that never came to an end, stories that did not stop flowing. When I woke up, I found myself in my tower of desolation, with crumbling walls and a disintegrated future. Outside the window I saw trees rendered barren by the overnight storm and hills stripped bare by the merciless sun. When I was young I dreamed a dream that I would never die, but that was before my nightmares grew teeth and started biting. I knew of the tree of love that grew at the centre of the universe but that was before my heart was shattered and blown away a million times. When I was young, I wished to live forever but now, caskets conjure my demons and funeral wails raise my hair. I had a dream, oh I had one, but when I started growing up, and begun seeing the difference between truth and vanity, realized that I had lost precious time, in the world of wishes and fairies. I wasted my time on thoughts and depraved knowledge instead of losing myself in memories and moments. When life stood to present her case, I knew that I had lost long before the jury listened. Who knew that a man would get tired of his sight? Who knew that it was not forever down the hill and one had to climb up too? I look down from my high tower but life has lost its taste. There is no more intoxication in the wine and my grapes taste like bad melon. I dreamed a dream that life would be all smiles and laughter, but alas, pain was true as daylight, and hearts broke more than they mended. Men forget fellow men then forget themselves. And so someday I shall reach my end, when night rides in on a horse and I shall hear the reaper, dragging his scythe on the rocky ground. And if my senses be dulled and the light leaves my eyes, bury me under the whispering pine, where I shall drink of her roots and eat the leftovers dumped at her feet. Bury with me my cup of dreams, and let me cuddle her till I fall asleep, that cup that was filled but never emptied. Oh soon I shall pale and fade into nothingness for misery consumes me bit by bit. My new beginnings have been nothing but new ways of meeting new ends. When I was young I dreamed a dream, but I have no idea why I saw a sacrifice without the sacrificed. I dreamed a dream of a blue sky and rainbows but I never saw rainclouds and thunderstorms. I dreamed a dream, oh yes I did, but then it was just a dream, and when morning arrived, I had to wake up to reality. It is a little too late to dream now, for I no longer am young and naive. Death stands at my door. What to do but pack my bags?

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