Beyond the Veil of Innocence

Deep from the caverns of endless night
A colossal explosion supreme
Lasting stillness lies sundered and shorn
Staggering roars of a cosmic regime
Trumpet all that has yet to be born

Lightning flash on fertile fields; illuminating this world of dreams
Chill from the song of icy winds as raging rivers gleam
Which way lies hope? Which way lies doom? Or is this Paradise?
Illusions can’t help but appear sublime when viewed from innocent eyes

Where sensuous rhythms lull the mind
A spirit infused with pride
Forthright vanity and a mask of sanity; what darkness do these visages hide?
The torment that haunts mankind

The lush green garden turns to sand; creeping temptation overwhelms
To rage in shame, guilt, and anger for all the misspent whims
Alas, the time to be chastised; the realm of mere mortals calls
Both man and beast to the grave are summoned as the final curtain falls

No ‘man the measure’ in the Matriarch’s court
For it’s here life is nasty, brutish, and short
Greatness reduced to ashes, to be scattered in the wind
The struggle for survival is no reliable friend

Heaving waves to drown the world in sorrows
Which soul knows it will live past tomorrow?
If the teeming swarm of bitterness and scorn
Shows the path of all who have lost
It must be known that death comes for all
Sharp as the sting of a wasp

- Charles Ransom