Altar of Dignity
"Come with me", he said,
And like a lamb I followed
We strayed from deeper waters
To bask within the shallow
The noon sun kissed our faces
And warmth and joy abounded
We soared to tantalizing heights
Never thinking we'd be grounded
But the prickly fingers of reality
Were never far behind us
We hoped we could escape its grasp
But all too soon it found us
Our dirty secrets and well-kept lies
Grew heavy on our backs
With tear-soaked wings and shivering lips
We never could quite relax
"'Tis simple," thought I and with a smile
I vowed I'd play his game
I could quiet my hopes and girlish dreams
But would it be the same?
As we plunged from such fledgling heights
I saw upon the ground
An altar piled with broken sticks
And stones built all around
Sticks and stones don't hurt, they say
But for each one my eyes could see
Was a word from him or a look that cut
Into that tender part of me
The tears behind my eyes grew dry
As I saw this looming pile
A steely resolve pulsed in my veins
As I stared in the face of Denial
"I've not wasted my time!" I shouted upwards
To the top of stony pile
"This just how I want it!!" I squeaked again
Trying to force out smile
But the lofty shrine carried all the reminders
Of a impetuous pursuit of passion
Yet now in the dusk those pursuits were exposed
In a most unflattering fashion
So I kicked at the stones which would not move
And I grabbed the unbreakable sticks
And after awhile it became quite clear
This must be some kind of trick
But who would mock me and leave me exposed?
Who'd remind me of so many hurts?
And how did so many sticks and rocks
come to lay here arranged in the dirt?
Bewildered I knelt by the formidable pile
And covered my eyes with my hands
When I finally opened them I noticed a box
Laying unopened in the sand
With fumbling hands and a defeated heart
I emptied the contents inside
And found one solitary match
And nothing else, to my surprise
And suddenly, a brilliant idea was born
As I gripped that lone match with my fingers
I struck it against the largest of the stones
And in front of that pile I lingered
With a flick of my wrist, I gritted my teeth
And set the whole altar ablaze
With a laugh I stepped back and watch the burn
And my burdens were lost in the haze
This symbolic construction of pain and destruction
Was built to remind me of this:
My choice to refrain from the men that cause pain
Is rewarded with Dignity's bliss