Unfulfilled

Broken dreams and candle things

and wishes on a star

A puppeteer's last puppet string.

A general's last war.

The sound of dead men's laughter,

the taste of stale burnt toast,

lost happy ever afters

from the stories we loved most.

For life's a disappointment - 

we dance with boredom,

flirt with shame.

Where marriage is  just settling

and everyone's the same.

Always running,

always talking,

their goals always out of reach - 

Like butterfly wings and crystal toys

Shells washed up on the beach

Fragile, pretty - 

Not quite whole

Just and echo of a people

whose story's all but told.

Fractured feelings, whispered thoughts - 

Nothing truly quite fulfilled

Waiting for the day we die,

Waiting for the day we're killed.