The Ocean And The (Fallen) Angel

A traveler and collector
of knowledge I saw myself,
yet there was always something,
that was missing;
I was constrained by this plane,
never seeking what was beyond;
thus the decision was easy,
to search for further answers.

I disconnected my being
from my body to witness,
how I would fare,
swimming in the endless sea;
would I swim in enlightenment,
or drown in misunderstanding?
with no experience for buoyancy,
I plunged into the waters.

Where all at first was murky,
the ocean cleared to reveal,
currents carrying endless thoughts,
like clouds in the wind;
floating to the surface,
passing countless headstones,
of those drowned in confusion,
bereft of enlightenment.

In fear of my fate,
I swam heedless of direction,
lest I too succumb,
to a cold, bitter end;
at last I did come,
to an island alone,
in the oceans of thought,
to give this soul a reprieve.

On this island there stood,
a church, small but grand;
built by a single man,
who thought he was God;
spending years of thought,
traversing this reservoir,
thinking he was the pinnacle;
he built this tenuous temple.

In that moment of weakness,
he turned his back,
on the thought and the knowledge,
to worship himself;
but from these waters,
it became to clear to me,
he was blind to his fate
and the steps he was dancing.

He passed through the arch,
to enter his shrine
and pay himself tribute,
at the head of his altar;
but it was an alter of madness,
he never could reach;
as his finger’s groped outward,
he returned to the archway.

Again and again he passed,
through the archway;
like a croquet ball,
in the cruelest of games;
it was then did I see,
the master of the stroke;
was a being of majesty,
with the face of an angel.

An angel who’d fallen,
for a woman of clay,
whose beauty had startled,
this son of heaven;
having gazed on her form,
heaven held no more glory;
thus he cut off his wings,
to bind to her world.

With his wings gone,
his splendor dimmed,
he became a mere man,
that he thought she could love;
yet she turned her back,
on this son of God;
her heart was turned,
to the first of her kind.

The man took all,
that she had to give;
in love, she did not see,
his wandering eye;
in duplicate tragedy,
the man Adam was blind,
to the sight of all love,
with the exception of Eve.

Her hopes and dreams crushed,
this woman, named Lilith,
hardened her heart to all,
to spend eternity barren;
this son of heaven,
who had fallen for love,
took upon his own shoulders,
the sins of the world.

So it was with this thought,
that he punished the man,
who thought he was God,
for his mistake of arrogance;
for a moment the man stopped,
turning, he looked straight at me;
perceiving at long last,
he was not alone.

The fallen angel stopped,
stepping aside from the man;
eyes glaring with curiosity,
as the man began to speak;
“At last I can see,
there’s no God left in me;
but search as you might
he’s not in this sea”.

“I turned from love true,
for a knowledge too easy
and a love that faded,
when heaven fell away from man”;
he turned to the angel,
with understanding in his eyes
and a heartfelt sorrow,
for a pain undiminished.

“I can see you, my friend,
I wish I could take
all of my crimes,
that were bound unto you;
you were a being of light,
Oh Lucifer, the first
and but for me,
Your soul would be free”.

“All guilt was mine and my progeny,
even Lilith and Eve;
you cast yourself from grace,
only to be tied to mankind’s infidelity;
I am ready to swim,
to find knowledge once more;
or drown in repentance,
to restore your grandeur”.

For a moment the fallen stood,
unsure of his choices;
then with a great yell,
he dove into the depths;
as he dove a great conflagration rose,
and the island started to slip,
lower and lower into the water,
its fate now sealed.

The church crumbled and fell,
as the island sank further,
Adam stood now on a last outcrop,
like the prow of a ship;
a great captain going down,
in dignity with his vessel;
he turned to me again
and spoke his last words.

“So passes the day’s of sin,
that were wholly my origin;
grace shall be returned to the innocent,
follow not my mistakes”;
with that, both he and the island,
plunged into the depths;
like Atlantis of old,
paying price for its sin.

The ocean churned and heaved,
like blood feverishly pumping,
through the mighty veins
of a hero of old;
from the heart of the turmoil,
arose Lucifer the angel;
in a flame of radiance,
all became calm.

With wings spread, renewed,
he gazed like a child
caught in a moment of wonder;
at last, he spoke to me;
“In time, heaven will come,
not just to me, but to one and all;
yet you all must swim in this ocean,
to find your own knowledge and light”

With great intensity he stared,
searching all of my soul;
a smile of contentment at last,
crossing his face;
“Be my witness”, he said,
and with that, flapping his wings,
he rose into the skies above,
like a star returning to heaven.

For time untold, I remained,
staring skyward, numb,
unthinking and overwhelmed
by all that had transpired;
at last I turned my back
and swam into the ocean,
carried by the currents of thought,
wherever they went.

But not once did I see another,
except the man and the angel;
neither ghost, soul, nor island,
only the headstones of the lost;
who must have turned,
from their own light,
forgoing all knowledge,
to get lost in a selfish worship.

Now I have returned to my body,
I recount this tale for all,
as witness I was chosen to be,
so that you may find a message;
though this tale may seem
to any that I tell, a senseless ramble,
strangely, to my own mind,
it all makes perfect sense to me.