When I was a child
I used to watch the stars
Counting them in numbers
All shining from afar
Laying in the grass
Gazing at the sky
Mesmerized in silence
On the night car rides
But now I hardly see them
With this city and its lights
That muddy up the skies
Veiling me from sight
This life has lost its splendor
To artificial glow
And drawing me as dim
To feel no purpose in the soul
Try to make a wish
Knowing it’s in vain
This system is mechanic
Meant to fashioning these chains
Yet I’m told to keep on churning
Strive to pave a way
But as light and life diminish
All that’s left is the grave
Where are my starry eyes now
Have they faded from existence
The child I was once
Just seems so far and distanced
A memory that’s faded
And almost inconsistent
That I try to resurrect
And yet my mind holds to resistance
Society demanding
That I look a certain way
To walk the path long-worn and trodden
And to never ever stray
All the pressures on the efforts
Where achievements build display
And the world can gawk and ridicule
Devouring the prey
Trained to keep my eyes
Focused on an object
The illusions of success
Where dreams are long since shipwrecked
Lying to your mind
And blindly I will accept
While the stars remain veiled
No longer seeing what they project
I sit still in this fog
Knowing it isn’t life
To live within a shadow
To never see the light
And while the skies are darkened
It’s but a fabricated night
With murky, muddled visions
Which I do not delight
I long to see the stars again
Where once I felt alive
Instead of sitting here
Where I feel I’ve long since died
To live a life of freedom
And not simply just survive
To burn bright in all my brilliance
Because I was born to shine