Innocence Lost

Innocence Lost

Lost: innocence of body,
Stolen by a greedy man
Who didn't care.

Lost: innocence of soul,
Shattered by ones who
Had no faith in God.

Lost: innocence of heart,
Fantasy clashed with reality,
Reality won.

Lost: innocence of mind,
With the other innocences lost
There is no way to hold onto
Dreams of yesterday.

Reality has won over this body
That has too long lived in fantasy,
But now it is an empty shell
That doesn't know what to do.

Reality is so foreign.

How will I fit in?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Author's note: I don't know exactly when I wrote this, but it was "published" back in 2002 by poetry.com.

This poem reflects at a time in my life when everything felt like it was going wrong. Not all of the above events happened at the same time, but the effects accumulated into one big explosion. A rather unpleasant wake-up call, so to speak.

I am no longer at this point in my life, though some of its effects still linger. Some wounds take longer to heal than others, and I thank God every day for my wonderful husband Will, who has helped me through and turn my life around.

I post this up to remember and to share with others that it is possible to lose your innocence and find your way in the world. It's not easy, but no journey worth traveling is a cake walk.