Before

By Cliff Lake

 

Before

 

Sometimes,

When I am very tired,

I can see the Long Ago,

A Before,

When I was.

 

I was more then,

We all were.

We shone,

So we did not fear the dark,

Or the things that came from there after.

That was the mistake, I think,

We were so young,

And had not yet learned bad.

 

We were warned.

Told of things

We could not understand,

But some learned, yes,

Some learned.

 

They stopped shining,

And said that it was growth,

That they were becoming,

And they were,

But we did not see

They were becoming less,

Though they said that they were more.

Then they set themselves above us,

Used words as weapons,

Until we shone less,

Making it easier for them,

And harder on us.

 

Sometimes,

I get so very tired,

And see glimpses of the Long Ago,

The Before,

When we were,

When we shone,

So that we no longer fear the dark,

Or those,

That wish to keep us there.

 

We can shine.

We can shine again.

 

Cliff Lake 2/27/2025

Copyright © Clifford Lake 2025

Location: Wichita, KS, USA

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