Rusted Innocence

The crowd had all gathered
To celebrate another year
One step closer to manhood
One step closer to fear
The toys were all present
Three candles on the cake
We all sang happy birthday
But the happiness was fake
His mother and father now live apart
And the boy is too young to understand
The grandparents try to spoil him rotten
More than the parents ever can
His godparents could not be there
So they sent him lots of money
His uncle built his brand new swing
And his aunt, she planned the party
All the kids came to visit
They ate up all the ice cream
They played lots of birthday games
Boy those kids could scream
His great grandmother stood alone
Complaining and full of sorrow
She has never let happiness interfere
She just worries about tomorrow
His mother is trying Oh, so hard
To be the strong single parent
Though no matter how she tries
Her feelings are transparent
His father sits outside the circle
Alone in an empty crowd
Just watching, it hurts so bad
He wants to cry out loud…

The boy he just keeps playing
To him, it’s just another day
Laughing with his brand new toys
Why can’t innocence stay
All to soon
The days will change
Another year older
Nothings the same
Maybe someday he will understand
The confusion in this world
Maybe someday he will fall in love
With a pretty brown eyed girl
And if he has his own child
A beautiful baby boy
I hope he can slow down
And take the time to enjoy
Because all to soon
The dreams are gone
The soul is empty
We stand-alone
To face the illusion
Of our life
The lost love
The buried strife
All to soon
We die alone
In a quiet town
Without a phone
Just a faded picture
From long ago
Of three small children
We used to know

d.s. brueckner