Woods of Ypres - The Will to Give

I had built up all of my hopes and all of my plans
Only to have them stand and cast shadows of humiliation
Days would pass shadows would remain
A reminder of all of my dreams
I had to live humbled with
The disappointment of what never came to be

I vow from this day forward
My grieving will be brief
That I will continue to give to this world
Knowing I may never receive

I had come so far
Before being stripped and sent back to the start
It felt as though the air was tearing me apart

A hybrid of seasons had come
It swept across the land
It spared the lives of everyone else
While it destroyed everything I had done

The frost came in the night
My progress immortalized
All that I had left undone
Would be forever, frozen in time

I became known for this curse
It happened throughout my life
It needed to continue to occur
In order to keep my legacy alive

Before I know my time had arrived
It was already gone
Cursing the cold winds of change
My moment of peace was just the eye of the storm

The will to live is easy
You can exist without a care
The will to die shows it meant so much
That you couldn’t have it - and you couldn’t go on living without it

The will to give makes the best of nothing
It is a philosophy
That states you will continue to give to this world
Knowing you may never receive.

Satisfaction will come and in time it will leave us unsatisfied
As uncertainty returns
Bringing back the excitement to our lives
We can only enjoy so much stimulation
Before we stop responding and become despondent again.

I had built up all of my hopes and all of my plans
Only to have them stand and cast shadows of humiliation
Days would pass shadows would remain
A reminder of all of my dreams
I had to live humbled with
The disappointment of what never came to be

Those shadows still remain as landmarks of failed attempts
In their shade I work away at building a tower of character
One day it will be revealed and it will stand for man years
Casting a shadow of its own and striking fear in hearts - as will I

It is the discomfort that sets us apart
That wakes us up, that puts us to sleep
It is our pathetic moments
Which make us desire to be great

It is the starving itself
That makes us hungry to want more
Over time as you learn to fall
You’ll rise to your feet faster than the time before

Satisfaction is a peak on the verge of decline
It will be over in the blink of an eye
Take your time to feel every moment
A gradual climb will let you enjoy it

For your life is measured
By the degree of dynamic from your life to your death
The wait is long and the wait goes on
But it is better to travel hopefully than to arrive

Through the crests and troughs
I will have seen both sides
By the Pursuit of the Sun and the Allure of the Earth
I will have earned and spent my life

The will to give
There is no destination
There is only the journey