ONCE UPON A TIME II

Once upon a time...

neighbors were more than faces across a fence, they were brothers, sisters, guardians of each other’s joy.

Love was the compass, hate was unheard of, and prayers rose like incense

not for self, but for the whole.

Justice was not for sale, equity reigned,

and peace was not a dream, but a daily bread.

Once upon a time...

nudity was innocence, not shame.

The body was art, not an object.

Women walked with dignity, and men bowed to respect them.

The word “violation” did not exist,

because reverence stood watch at every door.

Once upon a time...

the land gave generously to those who tilled it.

Farming was pride, not punishment.

The hunter’s courage was a song on his people’s lips, and the soil sang back with harvest.

The earth was alive, and she blessed her children without measure.

Once upon a time...

the girl-child was a crown of grace,

raised in reverence for the Almighty.

Her mother’s wisdom was her compass,

her humility her light,

her future a flame carved from honor.

Once upon a time...

the son was forged in courage,

prepared for wars he had never seen,

taught to carry not only his name,

but the weight of his family’s hope.

He grew into manhood with reverence,

bearing strength, humility, and love

like a birthright.

Once upon a time...

worship was not performance,

but spirit and truth.

Saint and sinner knelt on the same ground,

differences dissolved at heaven’s door.

No man was above another,

for all stood small before God.

Once upon a time...

men could read the sky like scripture.

The rains kept their covenant,

the sun knew its hour,

the moon took her shift,

and the stars ruled the night faithfully.

Once upon a time...

the sky was a canvas of serenity.

Fields wore garments of green,

birds composed symphonies at dawn,

and even the beasts of the field were gentle in their nature.

Man walked hand in hand with creation,

and loyalty was written in a dog’s eyes.

Once upon a time...

poetry flowed like rivers,

painters gave color to eternity,

artists sculpted truth from dust,

and inspiration was not a struggle,

but a gift breathed into the soul.

Once upon a world so beautiful,

because it remembered to be human.

But now, humans ruin everything they touch and complicate the simplest things.

© GrEaTnEsS 🦁