Iwori Aweda contemplation on being

There once existed

A version of me

Full of life and laughter

Unapologetically loud

Dancing along the boundaries of

What is and what could be

Unafraid to explore every

Corner of the earth

Driving full speed towards

An unknown horizon

I miss that person

It happened almost imperceptibly

Little by little

Through the years

This place

These people

This America

Blew out his light

With its puritanical veil

What irony that both

Liberal and conservative

Smothered the flame

In almost equal measure

Two ends of the spectrum

Actually meeting at the other end

Of a circle

I grieve that version

Of myself

His light

His confidence

His fire

He would not recognize

Me in the mirror

It’s hard to blame anyone really

They likely all had other versions

Of themselves

Snuffed out

By their own

Trials and tribulations

Staining your heart with the bitterness
Of their criticisms and judgements

I sometimes think about what

In another world

Another place

Another country

That me

Would have become

It hasn’t been all bad

Life has had

Amazing moments

So many beautiful memories

But I do wish

That version of me

Could have experienced them

First hand

If I could speak to him

I would tell him

To not let the naysayers

The people who disliked him

Who couldn’t appreciate his flame

Diminish his spark

I would tell him to

Have the courage to leave his path

For one that might let him be