Earthbound Poem by Richard Betts

As a child, I always felt so close to heaven,
And my soul always felt so light and clean.
But as a man, the sky retreated from me,
And the world turned dirty and mean.

As a boy, I would playfully wrestle
The cottony clouds in the skies above.
But now when I grapple with the clouds,
I try to trample them into the mud.

As a boy, I was always faithful,
And my faith kept me pure and free.
Now, I am unsure. For truth
And falsehood look the same to me.

I have grown to become a man,
But I possess more doubt than faith.
I feel as if I'm covered in filth,
So, driven Earthbound, I wait.