I Thought I Stood Tall

I.

I thought I stood tall.

Then I got knocked down a peg.

II.

It's lonely at the bottom,

especially when

you're looking up

at the place you were.

III.

Especially when

the world you now know

is cold,

dark,

alone.

IV.

Humbled be thy name,

they say.

And humbled I have been.

V.

Now I restart

at the bottom,

at the beginning.

All that was

is all that’s no more.

VI.

But start, I will

and start, I must.

VII.

You can’t allow yourself

to dwell in a place

that’s cold,

dark,

alone.

VIII.

That’s not how to live.

IX.

You can stand tall, again

and this time know

how not to fall.

X.

Because nobody wants to be

in a place

that’s cold

dark,

alone.