A hopeful young soul once penned the line"LIfe isn't as hard as it seems"

But what if the world just lost it's luster...and offered no hope 4 your dreams?

Then you suddenly realize people you thought you had known were nothing of what they portrayed...

Soon every drawn breath brings within you a pain akin to a slow-twisting blade..

Where your shackled to the needle and strung out on dope, the thrall of addiction your bound to...

...A permanent fixture in the slums of Philly... where a lingering sadness confounds you.

And what of the   of these cherubic voices? I hear no angel  whispering soft assurances to me......

Though, I've often hear the hushed tones of men plotting a murderous plan of treachery.

There's no stake in optimism....save your fairytales!!!!

There are no castles upon the zenith of every mountain............

Jonah never lay captive in the belly of a whale...

Nor, does the elixir of youth spring from a fountain!

I'm not trying to mock your hopes, Joseph.....Just giving you a glimpse at my reality...

Cause this life to me is  nothing but a double-edged sword -an alluring whore- A duality!

(My close cousin went missing in 12/06 and was found 5 months later in the Schuykil River where his body was dumped after he was murdered....... This poem is a response to a poem that he authored, that was handed out at his funeral. Hope you guys enjoyed & and could appreciate it.)