Antebellum

I am antebellum

An infant before it cries

The wave before it breaks

Untested, untried, unprepared

I stand at the door of destiny,

My fist vacillating

To knock is to destroy the peace,

And taste my freedom

I watch the sun set on a golden age

Forever ending selfishness and innocence

The dawn, a warship stocked for voyage

Still sleeping in her harbor

In the morning, I will awake a lion

In a century, my cenotaph will disappear

But now, for one breath, in silent stillness,

I am antebellum.