Why, as we grow older
do we lose the innocence of youth
are ageing and innocence mutually exclusive
is it because innocence affords us no protection
leaving us defenceless
easy victims
and so we abandon it
as we come to know the world that we inhabit
a world that tells us to expect the worst
and as we look for the worst
and find it all around us
our focus is lost to wonder and opportunity
our openness and willingness to trust
branded silly and naïve
dangerous even
the awe that filled us when young
that had us keen and vibrant
fearless and full of expectation
has become the currency of the childishly gullible
of little value in the ranks of lost innocence
and so
having left our youth behind us
and with it our innocence
an innocence that inspired us
permitting us to be open and unguarded
to accept our world at face value
to be impulsive and trusting
to believe in innate goodness
we have
with the guiding wisdom of age
decided
that it is no longer prudent
to unquestioningly offer our hand
to unreservedly open our heart
to smile and welcome people in.
Purely innocent
Completely tolerant
Unconditionally loving
Totally understanding
Overtly gullible
Unobtrusively humble
Intimately sympathetic
Thoroughly empathetic
Throughout caring
Never ignoring
Perpetually loyal
Consistently grateful
Labouriously studious
Discreetly judicious
Immediately yielding
Indiscriminately sharing
Socially polite
Un-assumedly modest
Flexibly adjusting
Unquestioningly accepting
Astonishingly punctual
Immanently answerable
Ever committed
Naturally obligated
All definitions read but not hold good,
For, being good is definitely being victimised!
If I offend,
let the reason be pure
Should my presence spoil your thoughts,
let not a shadow of doubt
be cast secular
When I move against the status quo grain,
fermented feelings of many
stir amber waves of murmuring
I sense the seething wind of dissimulation brewing
Compel not me to follow
the drunken messengers of false hope
Perhaps the imitation flavor of idol persuasion
be not my cup of tea ~ I despise superfluous civility
So please allow this non-conforming offense to unsweetly fall on me
As my tongue refuse to sugarcoat the truth ...
another dawn of darkness arises bitterly,
offering no core value compromising remedy
Twilight time is the fading glow of bauble hoarding lunacy
If I offend,
cast these words to the ground
Let any uplifted eyes of oblivious pride
peer ever unquestioningly down
Choice?
There is no choice
We just follow
We shuffle on.
If we stop
We die.
We sell ourselves to servitude
We thrive on meaningless slogans
We stock the tables of those who shatter our hopes.
We are the sad, the hollow, dead eyed
Standing in dust at the side of the road
Staring unquestioningly
As the fortunate pass by.
We are of the millions living in misery
Beaten in hopes never realised.
Silently asking
In the name of reason
Why should we go on?
There is no other choice?
I'd give anything today,
Anything to feel that burning fiery love
The kind that'll make any woman swoon,
The kind that portals her straight to the moon
I'd give anything today,
Anything to feel that burning fiery love
The kind that consumed Romeo and Juliet
The kind which blossoms vivacious violet
I'd give anything today,
Anything to feel that burning fiery love
The kind that chars and insulates concurrently
The kind that'll make him hold her unrelentingly
I'd give anything today,
Anything to feel that burning fiery love
The kind that knows neither distance nor time
The kind that chooses her without a crime
I'd give anything today,
Anything to feel that burning fiery love
The kind that eradicates all doubts and fears
The kind that unquestioningly listens and hears
The kind that shows appreciation nomatter how puny
The kind that kisses like death is on its heels
That kind that thaws, strengthens and heals...
Even now, my precious Lord,
I’m fully aware of the spiritual bleed
emanating from the wounds of my heart;
despite the ongoing pain, I’ve experienced
that genuine explosion of Your holy seed…
which was planted within the frailty
of this tear-filled, human existence.
Your timeless waves of abundance continue
to inundate the morning cries of sorrow
and to overwhelm my life’s resistance.
The fabric of my heart has been ripped;
from this unseen rupture comes a new flow
of unexpected compassion for Your people.
Draw me ever closer to You, merciful Lord;
position me within Your Kingdom’s plateau.
Allow me to enjoy the boundlessness…
of Your unabated surge of loyal love,
that seeks to unquestioningly consume me,
since I’m free me of sin’s punishment
and covered by Jehovah’s promises from above.
Author Notes:
Loosely based on:
Joel 2:12-13
Learn more about me and my poetry at:
http://www.squidoo.com/book-isbn-1419650513/
By Joseph J. Breunig 3rd, © 2012, All rights reserved.