Left to Live

The forest land of Olamné was bright as it was wild,

Where vines grew lush and birds sang sweetly on the winsome winds,

And all was quiet but the questing footsteps of one child,

A boy who yearned to know if he would always be alone.

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When life began, the boy beheld this world he'd always known,

Where kin were furred or feathered, and life was to be alive,

He knew that other creatures would appear, first small then grown,

But never dreamed to think about the place whence children came.

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One day the boy discovered life's beginning had a name,

In stumbling thoughtless on a mother hare birthing a babe,

The new one was a little one, but looked so much the same,

Why did he not look like the one who'd fed and cared for him?

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The boy had seen himself in ponds, he'd peered over the rim,

He'd realized that there was no creature who was of his kind,

And for all other creatures who could walk or fly or swim,

Each lived as one of many, and he felt so left behind.

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For long the boy did wander with no answer to his cries,

He stopped to rest quite often, gazing deep in hazy pools,

When sudden shadows shifted to take form before his eyes,

And though the dark distorts all forms, he saw it was his own.

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The boy called out to strangest shadows, "What am I, and why?

Did you bring me here, and will you leave me here to die?"

Remaining still unseen, the form released one tender sigh,

And then he spoke, the first and last time he would give reply:

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"With every birth there comes a wish to give life and to love,

And whether all loves will endure is not what I know of,

I know of why we're different, for our love will never fade,

We have a bond no simple beast can claim to e'er have made,

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Though now I'm kept apart from you, someday this may all change,

I sired you much higher, though to you it may seem strange,

Keep walking from the forest, and you may find answers yet,

You may yourself create one day, so love - never forget."