“You Were Meant for Now”

no story more strikingly sad

than beautiful souls who won’t see;

for this do I beg to open eyes,

for this I fall on bended knee

–

you must know you’re here 

because you’re the best;

you are the song of glory

escaping the siren’s breast

–

if only you saw your courage and heart

and wouldn’t ask why or how;

you were meant for then

as you are meant for now

–

think on those vulnerable, 

those for whom you’d fight;

you must deservingly see yourself 

projected in the same worthy light

–

you don’t know how beautiful you are,

how beautiful and free;

you don’t know how capable you are,

how much you could do and be

–

—they sold an angry litany of lies

—a cask of doubt cracked inside,

—scheming venom so stormy-eyed

—rendering you unable to realize

–

that you were meant for then 

as you are meant for always;

you are meant to be right now

as you are meant for all days

–

you were meant for your love and talent,

for your soul and spirit to thrive;

you weren’t meant to simply live,

you were meant to feel alive

–

no greater sin than your anxiety

from doubt and anguish and strained propriety

—that which made you inert and consistent 

and afraid to carve yourself into a society

–

where you are meant to be now

in the same way you’ve always been;

you must care for your inner world

and be brave enough to again begin

–

you feel stuck and can’t make decisions,

like something unknown is missing;

perhaps you feel unworthy of receiving

and have yet done so much giving

–

yet now is the last time for dramatic growth;

you no longer should need those stepping stones;

you paint your world and dictate the hue

—now is the truth, now is the time for you.

–

Tony Blau Veldt, 01/17/2023