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