The Lonely Muse

I hear the voice that sings in me,
The voice of a lonely muse.
She sings of laughter and delight,
Of hopes and dreams and welcome news.
She sings of sorrow and of tears,
Those battles lost, those still to lose.
She begs me listen to her song,
But I can not. I must refuse.
I dare not join her in her song
I have to pay my bills and dues.
Because I must, I turn from her,
offering but some frail excuse,
to face the world, to hold at bay
my obligations' strangling noose.
But, in my heart, I know the truth-
that she’s the “me” I long to choose.