I have a dream.

Once painted by the bright colors of naïve youth it has now become a faded wish with the realization of grim truths.

Yes, it is frayed around the edges and stained by my trials in this life, but it is a dream none the less.

You must understand.

I no longer hold it with endless hope, my unquestioning belief in its inevitability carrying me onward undaunted.

But instead grasp it with the desperation of a calling beckoning me to continue when all hope is lost.

It is a dream that has aged with war, losing its shine with the loss of too many friends.

It is a table where fewer will dine than it was meant for.

It is a victory that comes with a cost

But one day...

I will dine at victory's table with my loved ones, be it in body or spirit...

A faded, stained, and hopeless dream.