Betrayed by Youth

Candy canes and Christmas bows,
Pretty wrappers and frosty air,
Trees littered with icicles and snow,
No clear-cut paths to walk,
No escaping the energy, the excitement,
But within the glee a child watches.

Face pressed against the window pane,
Glass of fog, cold, and wet,
Tears rolling down pale cheeks,
Trembling lips, quivering limbs,
Eyes pleading, begging for a savior,
But youth betrays the child.

Staring eyes filled with sorrow,
A haunting ghost, a frozen illusion,
No dying wishes, no happy giggles,
A vision of condemnation, of withering dreams,
Betrayed by youth, by age the child can't escape,
Never to be a child, condemn to hell.

Youth withering away, dying dreams and hopes,
Wingless, clipped, feathered, unable to soar,
Forever to be a child trapped, wounded, shattered,
Never to truly know a child's giggle, a child's dream,
Facing the raw nightmare of life, lost in the shadows,
A timeless battle, lasting to the end of time.

Betrayed by youth, by years unforetold,
Should have been a baby somewhere else,
In a different home, different place or time,
But dreams come and go, life goes on,
And in the end, betrayed by youth,
With wisdom and age, a new future exists.

No longer face pressed against the window pane,
Watching, staring, pleading not to be left behind,
No longer a child, no longer betrayed by youth,
For age of wisdom, of knowledge, and experience
Is my ward for survival, for existing within this world,
No longer a betrayed by youth.