Poem: Yet Once More

I’ve come here for the last time,
To this edge, this place of nothing.
Been here before and swore ne’er again.
Only to see myself fall once more.

Look up at the sky and see
Paper clouds and Crayon sunlight
Watercolor rays and origami birds
The pseudo-sun and Technicolor blues.

Déjà vu and ahead of advent
I’ve been here before.
I lay here to rest, broken and spent,
Only to come again once more.

The Krylon colors and candy-coated dreams
Come at a price each time higher than the last.
Strength-weakness, broken-fixed,
Mind-body-heart-soul.

I gave what I had,
All the dreams and nightmares
The truth, the lies, the joy, the sorrow,
The strength and pain, I gave it all.

Each time I come I say, “No more!”
I break away and fall and rise.
Praised and decried in song and lore,
Through the ages living the truth and lies.

Always changing and e’er the same,
It exacts its toll
Leaving you stronger than before
And weaker than yesterday.

So here I am again,
Back once more for my redemption
Here again for my penance
This is the last time, for I will see you here again.