You Were Once Sure Poem by Achim Wollscheid

Walking along, I was deeply caught in my world
Wondering what and why and when
Will I do, am I here, will I come to find nothing
The sky was there and she glimpsed at me
She said 'we're climbing ladders in unknowing minds
It's no use 'cause the afterlife holds no certainty
The flats of the earth, like the backs of your hands
Have layers, etched so carefully
They thin and decay eventually when it comes to the end'
Then she closed her eyes, and went to rest
Blue birds in the sky overheard and entered their two cents
'We'll be taken higher to another surrounding place',
They said, 'that is bigger and fresher than here
With just wings you'll never reach it but we know it's there'
The sky and the birds they quickly disappeared
Though their words were glued to my heart
I pondered and pondered 'til I came across a park
The trees that swayed saw complexity in my face
They questioned 'what's the source of your distaste'
I didn't know quite where to begin
And what to tell them
But they knew my disposition and started to say,
'Do not think about such a thing
You've the rest of your life to be proud and gay,
Leave the worries of your dying day to that day'
And then again they continued to sway
From hearing this, I was confused
But I felt it was the best thing to do
I walked on, proud and gay,
Not worrying myself of my dying day
Until I heard from a puddle below
'Now's not the time to whistle and be aglow
Make amends, do your best and behave so you know
Where it is on your dying day that you'll go
You may just be a slave to the fiery abysmal pit'
And my mood deflated, it felt like a hit
To hear of this suddenly, and not know certain of it
I ran far, far, far away to a little place
To do as the puddle had said
All my wrongdoings I tried to erase
So that I would never dropp to that pit of the dead
But go to the bigger, fresher place instead
I don't really know...no, I'm not exactly sure
Because the flowers said a different thing than the shore
The cold breeze opposed them both
You'd think you were once sure
Now that knowing is gone, and you're wavering
Looking for meaning, for what's happening