There is a box
Just outside reach
In the deepest recesses of space

In the box lie secrets
Wisdom
The truth of the foundations of the universe

The box is latched
Locked
The key, lost

And the knowledge within
Unknowable

But at least there is a box

Let me walk
That I might smell the green grasses
Let me walk
That I might feel the sunshine
Let me walk
That I might taste the air
Let me walk
That my feet be reunited with the earth

Give us truths in stone
Give us wisdom ages old
Give us knowledge passed down
Give us tools to know wrong from right

None will matter without sense

In the wind the trees sway like always
The sky’s painted with blues and greys
The birds chirp and sing
The grasses peck at my toes
Like always

And all the while
Places worlds away
Knock, knock on my mind
And my mind and my eyes
Cannot agree

Soft breezes whisper nothing in my ears,
Speak of the recesses of my mind
In which little grows
And some festers

The wind grows faster, wilder
Whips and pulls at the detritus in my heart
Coaxing the tar away
Freeing my breath

Until naught remains of the broiling pain
The freckled, frayed bleakness of my soul
But a sunlit shadow
And a dim memory

To unstable quiet were they born
Surrounded by danger did they grow

The powers that be had
A vision each their own

But none asked them for theirs

None asked the children

We all act differently
Knowing there is an end
Knowing time has limits
Knowing someday we run out of chances

It gives us spark
Gives us purpose
Gives us urgency
Gives us some sense we are not alone

Yet some
Act as if theirs is the only end
Act as if others will not go on
Act as if what becomes of the rest matters little

Alas for them.

Though it is messy
Though it carries stresses
Though it is both too large
And too small
Though it’ll never be perfect
Though there will be laughter and tears
Though someday you’ll leave it

Today it is home.