Everything Else

Everything Else 9/4/2012

We were born perfect
Uncorrupted and innocent
But then we opened our eyes
And knew.

We grow and we learn
And it helps when you are loved
Because we can forget the bad
As long as there is good.

I was far more fortunate
Than I ever knew
Because we always take for granted
Everything we have.

You could have told me all day
About what it meant
To be loved
But how could I have understood
What it was
I always had.

There was always the safety
Of family and friends
And there was always a net
In case I fell.

I could be as selfish as I wanted
And still never pay the price
Even though I was warned
I never saw the end.

Reality sneaks up
On the good and the bad
But it cuts deeply
The unsuspecting
And the careless.

It cut me in half
And there was nothing I could do
Because all the love in the world
Couldn’t stop the bleeding.

I thought I was caring
And I thought that I was giving
But I didn’t know a thing
On my way to harvest
That I never deserved.

We live off the fruits
That others have planted
And we stand on the shoulders
Of the dead, beneath us.

We read about suffering
And we read about sacrifice
But never do we realize
How patient evil is.

It waits in our hearts
And it sleeps in our heads
Just waiting for the right moment
To tear us to pieces.

Some men pretend they are strong
But they are the weakest of all
Because only the strong can be gentle
And the only heroic
Can be humble.

Always competing with each other
And always competing with God
Setting up our names
As if they mattered at all.

Aspiring to titles and awards
No matter what the cost
And always trying to wear
Someone else’s crown.

We pass along the praise
And we pass along the problems
Without the courage to question
Or the tenacity to confront.

I had to lose almost everything
To see the difference
And I had to shrink down to nothing
To ever know myself.

Yes we are a different creature
A strange and dangerous monster
Intelligent enough to know
And rebellious enough to kill.

Born with a hole in our heart
That longs for eternity
But, if only we knew
Enough to believe
That we are loved.

I hid myself
In a faraway place
Just as lost as I could be
But it was there that I finally knew
Who I was.

Little by little
We are coming home
And all that is lost
Will return
Ten times a thousand.

We will be together
And all will be forgiven
Everything understood
And everything healed.