Paradise Lost

I'm looking for Eden to rest my tired head
a garden of paradise away from the pain
seeking the far land of milk and honey
distracts me from the living I have now
peaceful existence that's faded away
was it really that way in past memory?

The years pass and I'm still standing here
the lone man remembering what could have been
days of wine and roses are no more
replaced by the bitter dregs of thorns
ash cast to mark my place
on the transoms of life's flogging rack.

Follow the landmarks of a life wasted
beware the landmines of lives abused
and you'll find the exit from Eden
the gates require no flame armed guardian
they are bound shut by my own consequence
of acts carried out in foreign lands.

They will be no answer if dare knock
innocence was the attendant in the past
he is long gone, victim of long years
I wonder if Eden is just a memory
illusion of the wiles of retrospection
whispering that life had a better time.

2017, Sean Green. All Rights Reserved, 20170115.

“Paradise Lost” is a rewrite of a poem I wrote in 2015.  The former production was inspired by the title of the song “Looking for Eden” by Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull).   I’ve rearranged portions of the previous version, added some lines, and removed unneeded punctuation.