Beyond Myself Poem by Joshua Swanson

My life will end at the end of this journey,
The dagger held by my own hand,
And only I will hear the whisper,
Of my soul as it flees the land.

Our paths are crossed, our fates entwined,
Our souls are bound forever,
My heart is thine and thine is mine,
A bond that none can sever.

But now the fates would see us part,
Our destinies take different paths,
Yet when I reach my journeys end,
A thought of you will be my last.

I see you fading in the distance,
A spectre of what I have lost,
As my soul breaks, softly, softly,
A sigh of unmeasurable cost.

So I shall walk the path provided,
Grieving, mourning, never stop,
Until I reach my journeys end,
And can let this burden drop.

Trust destiny, unworthy fate,
That steers the path I have to take.
As twilight dreams enfold me now,
I dread the day I have to wake.

Through all my life, our souls entwined,
My heart is thine and thine is mine.
Until one day I feel you part-
A sudden pain the only sign.

I reach for you, I cry out, no!
But still I feel you pull away.
Why have you left me? where will you go?
My only wish, for you to stay.

Now I walk the path provided,
Weeping bitter tears of loss.
In my hand the burning ember,
Of my soul- fading to dross.

Soon the path turns steeply upward,
Or maybe it is only I.
Turing away from the easy path,
My steps are slow, each breath a cry.

I struggle now to keep on going,
For I am weary, and the path is hard.
My gaze locked on a glinting light,
A silver, shining, razor shard.

Soon my journey will be ended,
The dagger held by my own hand.
But the path is hard and I am weary,
So much that I can barely stand.

I long to taste life's bitter dregs,
Long to take my final stand.
Yet I must keep going, must walk on,
For reasons I no longer understand.