A tale as old as time
A person commits a crime.
Sometimes I like to sit and imagine
A lifetime where things are different.
One with an alternate version
Of you.
That leads to an alternate version
Of me.
And before I get too deep
In my reverie
I hear voices of others
Telling me if it had been
Different
Then I wouldn’t be who
I am now.
I scoff–
Is that supposed to be a comfort?
Like a centuries old book
That makes people
Less afraid of the beyond?
Deep breath–
They’re only trying to help.
To make sense of a person
And a situation
That frankly, makes zero sense.
Why do we need to live
Through pain
To ascend to our highest calling?
Why can’t we just summit
Without all the tears and fears
Without the hurt feelings
The desperation for a better life.
But time and time again
Our stories tell of heroes
And more heroines, too, now
Who may only attain greatness
By slaying the great beast.
The great beast has many
Faces.
Sometimes it’s our enemy
Other times it’s ourselves
Maybe a situation beyond
Our control.
Regardless, the only way to rise
Is to fall deep down
To the depths of the ocean floor
Where rock bottom lives.
Even now, it doesn’t feel
Fair.
Couldn’t I have become
Who I am now
Without the sleepless nights?
Without the inadequacy?
Without the screaming?
Without the name-calling?
Without the shaming and guilting?
God–
This list could go on and on.
Saddest of all
Is it’s not just me.
I can think of people
For every finger and thumb
On both my hands
With their own version
Of this same, old story.
A tale as old as time
A person commits a crime
Against your soul
Grievous enough
To take a serious toll.
And you wander the face
Of this earthly plane
Searching for the boon
To ease and heal your pain.
You meet friends along the way
Mentors, too,
Who show the path to you.
Leading you to just the edge
Of the dark forest
Where only one may enter–
You—
And only one may emerge.
You’ll fight demons and darkness
Fear, anger, and shame
A relentless pursuit
Of justice
Put worthiness on your name.
You’ll make it out the other side
But man, you will be changed,
Hopefully for the better
Hopefully holding hands
With the pain.
Befriending your deepest
Darkest
Desires and hurts.
Finding a way forward
Through the blood
And the dirt.
A tale as old as time
A person commits a crime.
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