You have to stay

You have to stay, they firmly say, Till when, I ask, as night turns gray. How much longer must I pretend, Wandering paths that never end? You have to stay—but where, oh where? No haven found, no breath of air. No arms to greet what should be mine, No place to dream, no stars to shine. You have to stay with us, they scream, But I’m alone, trapped in a dream. Empty chairs and walls confined, Echoes of silence haunt my mind. You have to stay—but I long to flee, Far from the chains that imprison me. To wander alone, through time unwind, To lose myself, my peace to find. You have to stay, yet I yearn to go, Where whispers guide and rivers flow. To greet the end with a quiet smile, And rest in the stars, free for a while.