Blanket of Stagnation
Draped in darkness of stagnation
Cause without purpose
An artificially imposed mental wasteland
smothering and cruel
But hidden here beneath the surface
glimmering points
Their faint glow casting rays of light
rays of hope
Here live the creative souls of yore
honing their craft
But somewhere there was a mistake - a crime
tragic wrong turn
Under the pretense of training and growth
smothering darkness
Free spirits confined and creativity hampered
It's their way
Their higher education has had its effect
lights fade
What once were sources of hope and passion
begin to conform
Those whom I look to for hope utopian dreams
falling in line
Their talents lost
But alas, here a few stir once more
rise again
For though their blanket is heavy and dark
shutting out light
Light cannot be stifled or killed
Not true light
A select few of the already rare
find the edges
And at this edge they congregate and strengthen
they prepare
For at this edge they find a door to everything more
much more
Here they discover the source of all
of light
The individuals rise, their determination strengthened
genius grows
Here for the elite, the enlightened few
They understand
With each passing moment their passions burn hotter
And yet they wait
The lay in waiting - stepping in line - stepping in time
Empty motions
They see the value of common recognition
of respect
They go forth into the world accepted
false conformity
For once unleashed their true natures show
burning unbridled
The flames lap at past confines and new possibilities
in open air
They burn hotter
Skeptics call us dreamers and haunt our every step
EVERY STEP
But it has no effect and never can
Flames rage
For our passions lead us on, driving the world
lofty ideals
And just before passing completely from dark
a look back
Back to where our contemporaries remain smothered
remain dark
And we find the light now extinguished
dreams dead
And we remember - the pain spuring us on
And we remember
And we remember
© Brandon McGregor - For more of my poetry, go to AllPoetry.com