“A Before & After Glance” by Todd-Michael St. Pierre

BEFORE:

(September 16, 1968)

I remember the day before I was born...
The sand castles and azure skies
I watched with wide impatient eyes
I yearned to lie in seaside grass
Blue-green days where lovers pass
Envying waves that touched the shore
I wanted all the LIFE in store
Palmettos swayed and seagulls praised the morn
I remember the day before I was born
I was one with rain and waterfall
With canyon echoes and redwoods tall
The moon and sun in celebration
September birds in V formation
Gazing upon the Earth below
So much to feel, so much to know
Between Earth and Heaven, untouched, unworn
I remember the day before I was born


AFTER:

April 30, 1994

I remember the day just after I died...
A river-town with nectarine skies
I watched with tired but patient eyes
Relieved I was to shed those bones
As new colors replaced earth-tones
Flesh it was a familiar bond
And yet I craved this world beyond
Endless space is as black as it is wide
I remember the day just after I died
The wind and rain, the graveside mass
Dirty headstones and yellow grass
The moon and sun in hesitation
I rose to join a V formation
Gazing upon the Earth below
So much was felt, the fear and woe
From Purgatory I heard as he cried
"Twenty-five years young and now suicide?
Damn you are selfish! What was in your head?
(A gun in your mouth to paint the bathroom red)
Damn you and your pain, Damn me and my pride!"
I remember the day just after I died