The Poetry Of Innocence

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

I hope you don’t lose the innocence,
That easy contagious smile upon your face,
That simple faith held within your heart,
A gentle understanding,
Not frayed by too many so-called insights.

I pray you stay unharmed from the cold, and,
Stormy weather that comes to visit from time to time,
That tries to make this life,
Something you wish to leave behind.

I hope your innocence stays,
Never to run astray,
But always within reach,
Whenever it is,
You are ready for a mend.

I hope you will let the innocence affect you,
Keep you grounded,
Remind you of that little young care-free child inside,
Whose hopeful countenance is going to be,
The life line for a heart that sees nothing else,
But the deepest apathy, cringing at its side.

I pray that your innocence holds your hand,
Even when the circumstance is pulling you down,
And when you feel as if no one is around,
Let it stand by your side,
A shadow of an unstained truth,
A reminder of your truest calling.

I know you will grow older,
But I want you to be wiser,
I know you will recall the times when,
Your innocence camouflages as the soft baby’s blanket,
Sheltering you,
From the bitter taste of crashed hope,
And broken heart,
Soothes you, holds the pieces,
So you won’t break apart.

But when the fight is heavy in you,
It may get pushed aside,
Misunderstood,
Cursed as an unwanted blind spot,
Often willed to die a slow,
Premature demise.

I don’t want you to forget,
That the innocence of the long gone youth,
Further enhanced by time and experience,
Can be all that you need, to change your thoughts,
About this life, and will you then,
Make it whole again?

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This poem came to me as I pondered about the end of innocence, in terms of the perception about life once we'd bid farewell to that easy, joyful and pure delight of our budding youth. Do keep in mind that, the innocence spoken in the poem is focused on that purity in our perception towards all of life, a fresh hope for the future and open acceptance of the past. It should not be confused as a return to the "bliss" of being ignorant or naive. The words came to me as I was transported back in time while as a super-emotional teenager, being thought of as innocent made me so angry as the only worthy words equated to it (that I knew off) were plain boring and insipid.

My personal idea in the rebel against innocence was in the dangerous, impulsive, spontaneous rule-breaking activity that came only a little later after a suffering of the mind and spirit. The phase that I was caught in, a kind of spirit limbo, was for me, the ending of the pallid innocence of my youth as I rushed out to kill any notion of it at every possible way.

Eventually, life took a turn and, finding myself changed I became aware of a transformed understanding of that I-word. This innocence was for me, an unexpected breath of fresh air, an experience I could only refer to as being reborn. It felt as if something held my hand, and led me to a new awareness about my life, then.

I hope you, my lovely readers will enjoy this poem as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Do leave thoughtful comments about your own understanding of the magic word. ( Don't you know that it puts a smile on my face every time I see a comment up for moderation? )