Sometimes one of us rises to the surface,
taking flight from the bottom of Dark Sea,
where, exiled, we have stayed for so long.
Defeated in old battles forgotten in time,
sentenced in absentia by a merciless court,
clearing debts of incautious ancestors.
Our vision accustomed to the shadows,
our body surviving with minimal breath.
When the one who embarks on the climb
arrives on the shore and breathes full life,
he is abruptly sunk again by diligent guards,
those armed cherubim at Paradise Gate.
Has our penalty not yet lapsed?
Has not yet been paid the reparation of the beaten?
Could we endure light by the day of release?
Perhaps, then, with a pledge of the dark days of yore,
we may, sharing beloved Earth with the Almighty,
build a new light, friendly to human nature,
openhearted, unabrasive, and compassionate.
Published in The Bees are Dead, September 8, 2016.
Published in The Fat Damsel, Poems to Survive in, Aug 2017, issue 11, part 2
http://www.thefatdamsel.wordpress.com
Published in The Chamber Magazine, May 7 2021
Published in Lothlorien Poetry Journal, March 10, 2024
http://www.lothlorienpoetryjournal.blogspot.com
http://www.thechambermagazine.com
Published in Voices 2025, May 2025
edilsonmeloferreira 