Lantern.

Was it that long ago I was restricted,
by soldiers of our country wearing
badges I turned away from,
to give my life for another in the womb?

I now face each storm arising among
the unpredictable desert winds.
But I know independence-
it is unable to be redefined for it
is our very soul that it exists to shine through.
Independence, to raise my children
in soil not bound by regulations as to
how many breaths can be blossomed
from our home.

My daughter's daughter was days
away from liberation,
but now she is a lost voice
still being searched for in lonely
hours where a hero is needed.

An emerald stone stood surely around
her ring finger,
while time kept guessing when beauty
would betray a soul striving for
freedom to be acknowledged,
as the most beautiful art.

Confinement. Incarceration. Liberty...
The chronometer precisely counting
memories as it stood at the windowsill
while my granddaughter became Death,
but not its shadow.

She was a lightning bug
caught up 'tween winter's passage,
and her light is no longer stuck,

it's burning for all of earth
to open their eyes and no longer
settle for making peace
with darkness.

-
Written 7/05/13 for Chelsey's Independence Challenge.