Broken little boy
I don’t know how to fix you
But I can make you
A better man
I understand
The hardship
The strife
The misgivings
All too human
That darken our lives
I can’t give you joy
I’ll just soften the blows
And replace the fist
With a hand
As this world can be forbidding
And life so unforgiving
I’ll forge that little boy
Into a man
“Is that a light at the end of the tunnel?” He inquired
“No!” Replied the Jester, “You are just being born.”
Do what you’re told
And learn all the codes
Assimilate
Regurgitate
And worship the old
Ways of escape
Will come with age
Overcoming
Becoming
A fighter and sage
Left by the wayside
To fend for yourself
Where bloodshed
And mind games
Bring power and wealth
You went off the path
Left love behind
For vengeance?
For Justice?
Or for the healing of time?
He was born and named Innocent on the first day of a new moon.
Conceived one cool spring evening, he had grown in to the fruit of a loving relationship over the nine following months. Now the time had come for the umbilical chord to be cut in the warmth of a small country home on a cold winter’s night.
His first minutes in this world were spent clutching his mother’s breast as she held him close and smiled through her exhaustion. His father stood by with a damp cloth, dabbing his wife’s brow and beaming a mystified air of joy. A log fire cackled and added light to the candle lit room. A stray black cat peered in through one of the windows. Its eyes glinting with the flicker of the flames. Portraits of mythical beings hung on the walls and seemed to be watching and blessing the scene as the father bent over and said: “Welcome to your first day on Earth little one.”
He was everyone’s clown. Bringing smiles and laughter anywhere his presence was felt.
Loved by all but known by few. His darker moments were always hidden from view.
Over time his jovial spirit dabbled with madness before becoming a dry, cutting satire. Some loved him more for this while others found the change loathsome. Yet only a couple knew who he was and understood what he had become.
His learning curve had run from innocent observations and a sense of justice to a darkened soul tainted by the hypocrisy of humanity. The experiences of life left him with a sense of loss and put a distance between his will and his identity. Only one person knew this but even they did not fully understand why the world would be so cruel to such a good heart.
