A Life That I... Poem by Robert Allen Stevenson

The past, a dark and foreboding place
Memories clouded by the mists of time
I look back and wonder at what could have been
If a change of step, a path or hill to climb
I had taken then

I could take you places no longer there
Where the fire has faded and embers glow
And waters deep enclose the soul, and then
I will take you places you wouldn't want to go
That I had taken then

I could show you things, with lifeless eyes
Of images seared on deadened mind, that we
Will walk down roads with those lost souls
And I will show you things you wouldn't want to see
That I was shown then

I could tell you tales no longer told
By those who shout to deafened ear
With mouths agape in silent scream, and then
I will tell you tales you wouldn't want to hear
That they had told me then

I could offer you my hand, and if taken
You lived my life as it had been
How long before you pulled away
Haunted, troubled by what you'd seen
A life that I
Would live again