Imaginary Friend
by Michael Doyle

In the eternal sense of voice
That I believed was a choice
A deviance disguised as free will
Is but an illusion and was never real

I made up my imaginary friend
That one on whom I could depend
Telling myself faith was clever
And could take through every endeavor

Now as the waves lap on the shore
I've come to see clearer for evermore
Chased by waves that conspire
To return as if remembered desires

There lies the the place we'll meet again
Me, that is, and my imaginary friend
Laying down to rest and sleep
Mine is the soul that will not keep

Frightened by who I might become
Judged as I am for what I've done
It is in this secret place of regret
That blurred lines are the passage we'll forget

Is this the now, back to the beginning
To that place we thought we were winning
It's exactly where we might need to be
Remembered as we are in wished for possibility

Somewhere in the place of the fighting chance
Where the way out gets its second glance
Too many paths lead to found extinction
This brutality is one without distinction

This cannot be let to happen ever again
This is the duality of me and my imaginary friend
There is work yet that must be done
And the path forward has only just begun

(c) October 30, 2022  Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved