In the beginning,

A woman in a hospital

And harsh, white light

The raw screams

The unshed tears

 

On the first day,

A child was born

In tears and blood

The gentle darkness

Gives way

To harsh light.

 

"Send me back.

I never wanted this."

 

Dark hair on snow.

Fences and concrete

Gray upon gray upon gray

The grass is always greener

Always greener

On the other side

But not for us

Never for us

 

And the world was void

And without form.

 

The birds took wing

And flew

Baloons dancing in the sky

Except one

Some things are too heavy

No wings can lift this

Atlas struggles under the weight of the world

 

Still fences

Unending fences

Whispered secrets

And dark rooms

Red blood on white skin

And the sharp edge 

Of a knife

Empty hallways

And dirty bathroom floors

 

And the spirit of the lord

Hovered over the face of the deep

 

Black night

And a silent car

The sharp edge of the cliff

Either/or

It's time to make a choice.

Either/or 

The car pulls away

The headlights fade

The moment has passed

 

Now

Scholarship applications

And red brick buildings

Shorn hair and a new face

A semicolon

And flowing black words

"This is not the end."

 

And the lord said,

"Let there be light."

And there was

Light.