before the fall

Pieter the Elder Bruegel, The Fall of the Rebel Angels (1562)

if i learn one lesson

let it be this

there is a tripwire

in my consciousness

and in front of it is a pit

that is endless

once my foot gets caught

and i begin to fall

my eyes will be blinded

by sand and rock

and my ears shall erupt

in the rapid tumbling

my mouth will utter

bits of jumbled tongue

and i won't know what

i am saying anymore

as the centuries rush past

ringed with corpses

and all because another

injured my pride

and all because my ego

was brushed and bruised

and who am i and who are you

on this battlefield

if i am to remain true

let me finish in beauty

my life on this planet

and let me ne'er forget

that we were one person

before we were two