Epitaph | Martine V. Clarke

We died tonight
Died when darkness covered the blue sky
Died when the moon put on her bright white gown and sat upon her
throne
Died when the stars claimed their nightly territories
As the sun slept after her twelve hour labor
We died tonight

We died when we hid from the revelries of the world
Died when we became victims of forced spiritualities
Died when we bent our knees and babbled strange words to stranger
spirits
Died when we deemed ourselves superior to our fellowmen
Based on our beliefs in thousand year old doctrines
We died tonight

We died when we removed our coats of bravery
Died when we allowed some member of mankind’s fraternity
To rob us of our happiness, freedom and liberty
Died when we choose to sit down and complain about elements of
governance
Shunning the right to take a stand and conjure some solution
Remaining servants of cursed complexities
We died tonight

We died when we choose to remain hushed to evils around us
Died when we became bearers of hopeless hearts and darkened minds
Died when night consumed our knowledge
When darkness stole our reason
When shadows devoured our bodies
Died when we feared that the approaching daylight would reveal our
true characters
And remained tormented by our own hypocrisies
We died tonight

We died when we became slaves to midnight forever fearing the
darkness
Yet never shining our own lights to guide our own souls
Died when we closed our eyes and ceased our vigilance
When we ended our labors
Allowing our minds and bodies to be engulfed by the night’s dark
abyss
Forever awaiting promised forgiveness and resurrection
We died tonight

We died when we lay in hell’s coffins
Succumbing to perpetual darkness and death
We died tonight

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