Apparition of Man

Apparition of Man

What is it to have a dream?
Or has it been lost to shadows;
Or did I never have one?

If there really is a song
The music has stopped playing;
Or did I never hear one?

I have fought for a cause
That’s become delusion;
Or did I ever know it?

I chase a sort of living
That I have been told
I should desire to attain
[Why did I?]

I have bought in to this:
A dream that isn’t real,
A reason that isn’t true.

Choice without responsibility,
Luxury without consequence,
Selfishness without pain.

Salvation without repentance,
Peace without suffering,
Hope without longing.

Grace without forgiveness,
Faith without dependence,
Freedom without humility.
[It is a fable]

We open up our minds,
With no filter for our hearts,
To a world of noise and sound.

We responded in kind;
replacing truth and wisdom,
Defended with wit and reaction.

We pardon self-indulgence,
Protect our self-seeking life,
In fleeting acts of momentary justice.

Parade our mirage around,
Appearance of our own creation,
An eerie echo in our hollow soul.
[It was an apparition]

We have come to believe:
We’re the makers of our demise;
A false dream of no eternity.

Humanity's delusion, a nightmare
Exposing us to no peace,
No rest, if this all there is.

I have been with anger’s pain
I sip the outcome’s bitter cup
No one told me about this.

Don’t ask me these questions
I don’t need to look in a mirror to
See the truth of what I really am
[I Feel Naked Already]

This sober truth reveals tales;
Fiction we thought was certain.
Still, we hope to find Truth.

The Spirit calls us to come
To find rest from our weariness,
Rescue for the hurting soul.

The Cross remains before us,
Reaching for those left bare;
Love calling out in the echo.

The Father stands looking,
Extending arms of redemption,
Hope in eternity we long for.
[Rest]