Freedom had been hunted round the globe; reason was considered as rebellion; and the slavery of fear had made men afraid to think. But such is the irresistible nature of truth, that all it asks, and all it wants, is the liberty of appearing.
~ Thomas Paine, Rights of Man, 1791 ~

Tuesday, January 29, 2019

I Was Free

When I was a young boy,
I was free to play in the rain.
I dreamed a thousand dreams,
and imagined who I could become.

But then they taught me about a God
who insisted I give up on my dreams
and follow his instead. Or was it theirs?



When I was a young teenager,
I longed for independence.
Oh, to take life by the reins
and discover the world!

But they told me that God
demanded submission and servitude,
to ... the Christadelphians? How convenient!

When I became an adult,
I followed the rules and tried to survive,
in a Christadelphian world full of expectations I didn't understand,
with clipped wings.

But I spent many nights in tears,
because I wasn't the person
they wanted me to be.

When at last I opened my eyes,
and allowed myself to think and question,
I began to see through the doctrines of fear and control,
to a giant world beyond with a powerful story to tell.

They reacted swiftly and angrily,
wielding their power and control,
to make an example of me and cut me off,
only to find that in that very instant,
what they had cut off,
was their authority over me.

I was free.

Free to play in the rain.
To dream a thousand dreams,
and imagine who I could become.