Burning Portrait

In your mind hangs a picture of yourself
It’s the man that you wanted to be
There were times when you’d stop to admire
The fine strokes of a confident hand
And it’s honesty

Now you’ve covered it over
Now you can’t bear to look
You can’t stand to face up
To what you forsook

Your portrait is burning, burning
Douse the fire now
Burning out of control
Yet you seem so invincible somehow

Once you were revered by statesmen
And cardinals sought your advice
Your name was embossed on the lips of the great
And the good and the famous but oh what a price

Now the paint is corrupted
It's consuming your mind
Devouring itself and each principle
You left behind

Your effigy's burning, burning
Kill this fire now
Burning into your soul
Are you still invincible now?

Enslaved to the dark side of the mirror
From whence there is no return
Bonded for the price of nothing dearer
Than a cause-celebre you'd eventually spurn

The eyes of the portrait, they turn
Glaring at you as they burn

In the end you were tempted away
From the path you had wanted to take
Such is life in the limelight
When you trade integrity for gold
You were warned, Heaven's sake

You had such good intentions
They just melted away
Like the paint on your picture
And now you must pay

Your portrait is burning, burning
Douse the fire now
Burning out of control

Burning, burning
Kill this fire now
Burning into your soul
You were never invincible