The Pleasures of the Damned

There you go
The deed is done
Many times over
Its too late to go back
Or to remember if there was a beginning
This path to hell
Was paved with the best of intentions
Like all others
Look at all those footprints and you'll know
Its better to hang frozen in mid-air
Than walk down there
Us, them
The feeling is the same
Meaningless yet endless
Another time and it might have been different
Isn't that what they all say?
And they are right
Another time, another place
And that relentless sorrow
Would have been breaking dawn
Over that sea you loved
And those very footprints
Of lovers running in the sand
And in that tilting light
We could have carved our names
Faster than the waves could wash them away
Another time and that walk through
That leery, drunken forest
Would have been a dance
A fine balance between a waltz
And an eternal search for the meaning
And definition of us
Another time and you would be strong
You would live alone if you wanted to
Leave if you wanted to
Not give up
Not give in
Now just say these words
And take pleasure in the break
Of those mirthless laughs
There are many beckoning fingers
And outstretched hands
A grasping, gasping ocean
There's nothing you don't know
Yet there's always a new depth to sink to
Celebrate the fall.