Nobody Told Me Poem by David Keig

Nobody told me that this mist
That came into my life
Would stay around so many years
No matter how hard it was I tried

At times this mist was black as death
At times as red as hell
It tore apart my hopes and dreams
And I could hear that tolling bell

Nobody told that there was no cure
No magic wand that I could use
No special pill to make it right
Nor a pair of Dorothy's red shoes

I just wanted to see things as clearly
As they had been before
But they were now all wrapped in fears
That lay beyond each door

The years went slowly one by one
The mist's red and black still there
As I grew older constantly
And began to lose my hair

I fought and fought this crown of thorns
But the more and more I tried
Those demons came back with a strength
That always multiplied

And then I looked inside myself
The sun was shining on that day
I was relaxed yet tired from fight
And the demons turned away

For they had always tried to trick me
Into always fighting back
The harder that I fought them off
The stronger they'd attack

I looked at them for what they were
And saw how small they seemed
The less I let them worry me
The less they compromised my dreams


It took some time I must confess
To adopt this way of being
It took many, many months and years
To embrace this different way of seeing

For, as morning mists can mask the land
And storm clouds too can gather
Then so is life - its not all sun
It's not all perfect weather

So smile and see and realise
The tricks played on us by our eyes
The red and black and in between
The nastiness that this can mean
But there is the calmness we all crave
We can save ourselves before the grave
So place your feet upon the ground
Be still - just see what's all around
And slowly feel each tension gone
Open your eyes and be as one.