When I was younger, life was a thick honey coating my tongue
It was the sugar I licked from my smiling lips
The sweet smell of a field of flowers
The warmth of the sun and the silence of the moon
Life was the gentle breeze in the trees
It was the silent giggle of the running streams
And it was the cool, green grass under my feet
I could turn any corner in this world
And I would find a friend to help me
I would hold my angel’s hand as it guided me
Through streets of gold under silver stars in the night
I’d lay my head on a stranger’s lap
And he would love nothing more than to sing me to sleep

How clueless I was.

Now that I’ve lived long enough, life is poison dripping from unseen fangs
A bitter taste in my mouth that makes me grimace
It’s sickeningly sweet smell of overripe fruits under barren trees
The exhausting heat of the sun and the judgment of the ever-watchful moon
Life is the sudden tornado shattering the calm
It is the conspiratorial chirpings of the crows in their nests
The roaring of the angry rivers nearby
And it is the dry, hopeless cake of dirt under my feet
I can turn any corner in this world
And I would find an enemy waiting in the shadows
I would struggle in the grip of my demons as they goaded me
Through streets of disease under dark skies
I’d lay my head on the chopper’s block
And he would love nothing more than to swing his ax