Once Too

Once Too
(Butterfly Fields Two)

Once was a Good man
growing up and out of a boy,
but he was different, silly,
dumb, weird.
(or so he was told).
“That’s not good”, he thought
(or heard),
“I must be like everyone else,
‘else they won’t like me”.
So Good left for Like
and Peace went with him
and left unrest and doubt,
and an empty shell of a boy
who once was Good.

And he says: How do I know what they all really want
or like or need anyway?
How do I please them
when I can’t please myself?
I’m empty inside and I can’t get filled up
by all those people out there.
They have little to give
and even their best doesn’t last
and I end up empty again.
Broken promises and butterflies,
regrets and fears and empty spaces
are all I see inside.

I’ve heard that peace of mind is hard to find
and it doesn’t seem to come
from anywhere I’ve ever looked
or from anyone I’ve known.
I’ve heard it comes from deep inside
but when I look there all I find
are broken promises to myself
and a field of butterflies.