I
drifted off to sleep and had a dream,
An
old man in his 80’s sat under the shade of a great tree.
He
beckoned me closer with a bony finger,
I
walked up to him as he gestured for me to take a seat.
“Come
child rest your weary feet and have a talk with me.”
I
was feeling tired so I did.
“Well,
who are you sir?” was the obvious question that came from my lips.
“Me?
I’m the keeper of this tree,
I
have long since forgotten my name in the sea of time.”
“Well
then, what is this tree?” my curiosity building to its peak.
“This
is the baobab tree, whose roots connect all things together. But let’s get to
you.”
“I’ve
been watching you since the beginning,
I
know so much about you child,
The
things you’ve screamed when no one was around,
The
tears you cried in the dark,
The
look in your eye seeing other people live the life you can’t,
You
need to stop hiding behind the mask,
The
lion is waiting to come out,
But
the sheep is too afraid of being hurt.
Live
up to your name my child,
Be
the king that we both know you are and paint the town red with your banner.”
As
he speaks he seems to get younger until he’s in his 70’s.
“You
are right but I can’t,
I’m
too scared,
No
one is worthy of the real me,
If
I’m a king as you say,
Then
why should I entertain peasants?”
The
tree starts to shake as a fierce wind blows around us.
The
once old man now looks to be in his 60’s and his eyes bore straight through me.
“I
once though like you do now,
How
foolish I was,
That’s
not the way things work,
It’s
because you are a king that you must be an example for the people,
You
were taught better than that,
We
both know it’s the truth.”
He
continues to grow younger until he seems to stop at 40.
“Why
is it that you know so much about me and all that I apparently must do?
I
know this is a dream,
But
everything you seem to say is all too true.”
He
laughs and finally digresses once more,
Now I
recognize him,
How
could I not?
It’s the person I see in the mirror every day,
It’s
me.
“I’m
your conscious,
Of
course I know all about you,
Who
would know you better than yourself?”
He
stands up and offers me his hand.
“Now
what do you say we take this world by storm?”
I
can’t help but laugh and accept his hand
As
the world fades to white I feel the weight rise from my shoulder.
