I
I
Beyond this page
Beyond these words
This poet does live
For I breathe the fumes of life’s existence
I burn alive, I weep and cry
I’ve loved and lost, I’ve found and deceived
I’ve walked in light, I’ve fallen in darkness
In joyful crowds I have laughed
Amongst good strangers I have wept
In times of strife, I’ve been kicked and beaten
Dragged from the flock and locked in the stock
Exiled from the land - walled in and shunned by man
A public prison, a solitude without borders
Overcome by the mire of life
Losing the fight, my face in the dirt
Deaths dark calling has said to thee
“Give it up, leave this field”
“Give now, lie down and yield!”
With nothing left, nothing to gain, but the very next breath
My spirit has rallied
My soul has fought back
I’ve risen above, I have over come
But many times before I’ve given up
But this day is mine
This one I keep
The tide has turned
From this day forth, the Lord with me!
For I am alive
I am free
Now come with me and you shall see
A ray of hope, a new found sun
For you cannot read it upon my face
You cannot read it on this page
For this life the fire does blaze
Even your eyes cannot touch it with their gaze
For mine is a journey you can only travel
For behind my eyes, within my mind
In my heart and in my soul
There is a light that burns within
An everlasting purification of the wretchedness that inhabits my existence
A never-ending contamination of every fibre and sinew of my being
There at the surface of my skin, in the cracks of my voice
And at the soles of my feet
Shaken to the core
Yet still you hear my Lion’s roar!
The rage of life that swells within
Full of passion, full of life
Now come with me and you shall see
I’ve run away and lived to excess
And now and then I’ve tasted success
I’ve been overcome with pain and grief
I’ve made error and struck gold
I’ve sung and danced, I’ve acted upon a stage or two
For in this theatre of life called “I”
I played my part according to the script
Locked within the writers tale
But I knew if I broke free, I would not fail
For long ago I left the mark where others fell
And found the essence from deep within to spur me on
For now some say “I am risen”
But others still say “I am the fallen”
But let them say what they say!
For I will live how I may!
Now come with me and you shall see
For in the halls of King’s and the valley’s of shepherds
I’ve run amuck and served both men
For many sights I have seen
Many tables I have been
Fresh new delights of this life called I
I’ll show you a life painted in Gold
Fallen in dirt
Risen to life
No word of a prayer
But here I am
One in a million!
Still I stand and still I breathe
I’ll never look back
I’ll never stand down
Now come with me and you shall see
For when at the end the call of Death asks
“Who is the one that has made the journey and walked the line far and wide?”
“Who is the one that has left their footprint upon my hill and now knocks on heavens door?”
With all I have
And with all I am
I shall say to thee
“It is I.”
(2007)
