Innocence's Funeral

Innocence’s Funeral 

The boy sat hunched over on the black chair

The residue of a tear still stained his face

His black suit and black tie quivered in the wind

The wind that tailed the coffin on its march

The coffin, juxtaposing the ink-black on the boy

Was covered in painting, but the painter’s

Skill varied throughout the feilds of the casket

From scribbled stick figures to middle-school art

On top of the artwork stood words in bold

That outlined the coffin on a gold strain

“Gullible, ignorant, trusting, and naive”

“Simple, curious, childlike, and optimistic”

The boy sat up straighter as he peered

Over shoulders to read out the list of things

That he will never truly have again, the dead

The death of his childhood stood before him

The body of concepts lay rotting in a casket

The aromas of childhood cooking wafted

In small curls, dispersed in the wind along

With the innocence rotting inside the coffin

And as the colorful box descended beneath the floor

The boys childhood-given innocence left him

Never to be seen, until the sun turns red and the

Moon turns black, for at 14, the boy is growing old

He can’t keep all that was, even though he 

Dispises change in all he does, but change must

Occur for the sun to melt the snow and give

Rise to the Spring flowers in their colored glow

Change turns the wheels of time and with time

Comes age and with age come growing up

The boy always wanted to grow up but now he 

Isn’t sure if he wanted all the change that came with it

The world was no longer a place of pure joy

There is so much pain, so so much pain

So much evil permeates the world that he

Thought was so perfect and blameless

Oh, much was the truth of the saying many said

He never knew the truth until it was gone

“Ignorance is bliss” but where did his bliss go

It went down to the grave, with his ignorance

With a tear, the casket hit the floor beyond the floor

With a tear, innocence he’d always known left

With a tear, there was no ignorance or bliss

With a tear, his life was forever changed

Reviews

[emmajoy]

I've read this through, second time aloud.. no, not your voice but perhaps with similar inflections. Have to tell, i see this is a short story.. there are thoughts unsaid, hidden corners, perhaps. In other words, start to finish i found this tragic but, more than fine writing.

[JamesTleBourn]

Thank you for the review, Emma! Especially thank you for taking the time to read through this twice :)! I'm... glad (?) you found this tragic. That was my goal. Thanks!

James

[jacob erin-cilberto]

2nd stanza, third line i read the word as "fields"---
i like the metaphor here....well done....youth dies too young these days...the subject of this poem dies at 14, at least his innocence does...and many die much younger. It is a tough world and kids hardly ever get to be kids anymore.
makes life feel shorter...i was lucky to be a kid in the 50's---wasn't rushed to grow up, although i spent much time on my own.
but the dangers of abuse, broken homes, gangs etc...do a drive-by shooting that inadvertently fatally wound innocence.
j.

[JamesTleBourn]

Thank you for your thoughts, Jacob. I really appreciate that!

James