The best things aren't supposed to last |
I had a prize once It wasn't flashy or new-- It wasn't even permanent-- But it was mine Even now, I remember it only for being Everything I could've wanted Without ever having to ask It was warmer than a fire In the heart of winter And brighter than the sun At its midday peak, Like something plucked from the sky And handed down To shine in memory: A star after my own heart And twice as entitled; A living dream, And I never wanted to wake I would've done anything for it Because as long as it was mine Forget the mountains-- I could move planets! I could leap skyscrapers Over a dozen streets, Align the stars To make a heartbeat I could make the wind wake A siren song, Make the earth quake For every dream gone wrong And I did it all! But it was never enough See, I didn't realize at first, As I never do, That it was only temporary And sooner or later That dream would prove ephemeral It didn't happen suddenly, But when it did, There was no fighting it I watched it fade in my hands, Utterly powerless And increasingly enraged I felt its heat leave with every breath, And in what only seemed a few heartbeats That dazzling light Became a cold, unforgiving dark Like a window Into something I couldn't admit If I had to describe that moment In one word, It would be "speechless" Because never has such a tumultuous utterance Been coined to describe it And as I stared At that fresh husk Of would-be dreams, I felt the weight of the world Slide between my fingers And fall away like ash I had a prize once-- Not something I won at a carnival Or picked out at a store-- But something real She had red hair And faint blue eyes Like steel That was just soft enough to mold Though I'll probably never see her again, I'm comfortable saying That despite it all-- All the pain and heartache, The uphills and the downs-- I'd do it again Because for every lonely night Spent wondering How things could be different, I remember two more Of when they were I remember holding the world in my arms And dedicating each heartbeat To a perfect harmony That had nothing to do with the outside I remember exploring it: Every kiss bridging the imagined distances Between one dream and the next; Every intimate moment bringing down the sky So we could walk in the stars In hindsight, We may have been burning a candle at both ends, But we started a fire And we let it burn through all logic and reason Until the only logical reason for being Was to feel the blaze Who cared if we got burned? Fires can't last forever Eventually, they have to be snuffed out So the fields can grow again And a new fire can start So I have no regrets When I say, I had a prize once, And I let it go |