Honor Is What You Cling To

When all your brightest fantasies
Dry up before your eyes,
And all your promised hopes turn out
To be just pretty lies,
And when you make your best move,
And find you're just a pawn,
Then honor is what you cling to
When everything else is gone.

I've tales of shattered romance
That would make a gargoyle weep;
Pledges of undying love
That no one means to keep.
Sadder is easy to come by;
It's wiser I'm still working on.
And honor is what you cling to
When everything else is gone.

I could speak of friendships ruined
By what has gone between
Those who seemed more close
Than any brothers could have been.
For the heart will always have its way,
Though reason be undone.
While honor is what you cling to
When everything else is gone.

What should I say of stiff-necked pride
That will not compromise,
Fighting past all pointlessness
To gain some empty prize,
And mark a hollow victory
That vanishes with the dawn.
But honor is what you cling to
When everything else is gone.

So what, then of the future?
I expect no different;
To be just as empty-handed
When my last strengh is spent.
I march into uncertainty,
Yet still I soldier on.
For honor is what you cling to
When everything else is gone.