Night Lights

for Darlene Lance and Christie Torgerson

Is anyone else as disappointed as
I am? Somehow I thought I would be all right
But what the cruel tyrant known as time has
Left for me as legacy seems only night
Without day: origin without destiny

Somehow I dreamed that I might be the one to
Undo such damage as could be undone to
Crushed flowers like us one petal at a time
That maybe I could heal the world by singing
And planting songs I hoped would be understood
Gathering the harvest then in reams of rhyme
With the hope my best would be judged to be good
As it was and is by those who have seen it
In papers they found around the neighborhood
Who never have any money but mean it

And so I have made some friends a lot like me
People who have nothing but will have their say
The songs I planted sprouted and are bringing
Sparks in the dark across the night back and forth
Where my night lights seem to dawn on some as day

Only love can know what a poem is worth
The kisses the poet receives for his pay
But there are few who love and many who wait
For money I owe who will not go away
And no one ever wins who opposes fate
Except for someone as disappointed as
I am who somehow thinks we could be all right
Though what the cruel tyrant known as time has
Left for us as legacy seems only night
Since we are day: origin as destiny

If anything good is to happen then I
Like a spark in the dark from a falling star
Must embrace my origin as destiny
Holding on for dear life to the comet's tail
And do it myself or else die asking why

If anything good is to happen then we
However separated however far
Who seem to have been left here all alone
But surely must not have been left here to fail
Must overcome our fear of the unknown

+Steven Curtis Lance



Copyright MMVIII