The Walls

When time began, I stood dry on the shore,

I was free to run, jump, and shout,

No rules or restrictions to hold me back,

I thought I knew the meaning of life.

The sun shone everlasting,

The waves gently rolled onto the beach,

Life existed everywhere,

With me at the center of it all.

My knowledge of existence expanded,

And each day held something new,

Ignorance vanished at an astonishing rate,

And my heart knew no troubles.

As time passed I noticed a change,

At first I thought it was me,

But life around me was disappearing,

To where I did not know.

Frantically, I searched for the answer,

I searched high and low,

I traveled to the edge of the world,

And explored the galaxy asunder.

As I collapsed back onto the sand,

I knew that the riddle was unsolvable,

I had searched the universe and found no answer,

Never looking within me.

Life died around me,

Waves crashed down with authority,

The sky faded to a starless black,

And I stood alone shivering on the beach.

Danger had crept upon me,

The Sea had turned to acid,

The Forest to whipping blades of death,

And the Sand to sharp shards of glass.

I felt pain as I swam the Sea,

Traveled the Forest,

Walked the Sands of Time,

And nothing ever seemed to change.

Eons passed,

And the dark waters rose,

My island of sanctuary was gone,

And so was everything I understood.

As I sank into the stygian darkness,

A warm current surrounded me,

My body began to tingle and glow,

And I wondered why death was so pleasant.

As the waters carried me,

I relaxed for the first time that I could remember,

And found myself exploring my inner being,

And becoming confused by the Walls that blocked my path.

Try as I might,

The Walls held,

I pounded on them with my fists,

And kicked them with deep-seeded frustration.

As I fell gasping and panting,

I realized brute force was not the way,

So I looked even deeper within,

To a depth which I had not known existed.

The Walls slowly crumbled,

And light slowly filtered through the cracks,

Until a blazing fire burned in front of me,

And still I looked beyond.

Before me stood a vision,

One that I thought I didn’t understand,

One that I knew had not been explored,

And hope flickered slightly within.

As I entered the light,

I knew the answer,

My search was over,

The riddle had been answered.

Once again I walked the beach,

The sun was shining and waves caressed the sand,

I couldn’t run as fast, jump as high, or shout as loud,

For there were new rules and restrictions to abide by,

Because I no longer walked alone.

Conan Tigard

September 1992

(Alternate Ending)

My body shuddered with giant spasms,

And I awoke to find myself lost in the darkness,

My first and only dream had been that, a dream,

Perchance a grasp at reality,

Which slipped from my finger forever.