In a quaint town where the church bells ring,
Lived Roger Greenway, a man with a sting,
Son of a pastor with a pious grace,
Yet Roger felt lost in that holy space.
With a heart full of longing, he'd often confide,
In his father's shadow, he could never abide,
Comparisons haunted, each step felt so small,
In a world where he'd never quite measure up at all.
Jealousy brewed in the corners of his mind,
Seeing others succeed, while he fell behind,
Not the brightest of sparks in the academic dome,
He trudged on a path far from his true home.
He'd found his way to a professor's role,
Yet his missionary dreams took a different toll,
Never a beacon in the foreign lands,
His work seemed to falter, slipping through his hands.
Petty and mean-spirited at times he'd be,
His harshness a shield from the eyes that could see,
In his fear of exposure, a truth he'd defend,
He kept up a bluff he could never amend.
Sexual insecurities, a hidden, dark plight,
Made Roger live in perpetual fright,
Maintaining a facade with every breath,
While inside, he feared the revelation of death.
His life was a struggle, a quest for some light,
Yet shortcuts and lies kept him out of sight,
A rise to the top on a shaky pretense,
Left him unfulfilled, devoid of recompense.
In the hallways of academia, his name did persist,
But behind his façade, a truth was missed,
Roger Greenway, with a heart full of dread,
Lived a life unfulfilled, with regrets left unsaid.
As the years went by, his end drew near,
With a life of false glory and unspoken fear,
A soul never content, always looking askance,
Died unhappy, a man who never took a real chance.
His story remains, a lesson so clear,
Of a man who lived in constant veneer,
A tale of a life marred by doubt and disguise,
Who found in the end that truth never lies.
