Amber

disciples of dichotomy

formed my birth

amidst black and white

decisions forged eons ago

traditional, historical

foundations sealed

in lefts and rights

wrongs and rights

days and nights

with just one light

a single flame to guide

my engine’s movement forward

rendering me blind

yet trusting

“don't question,

just exist"

the voices persisted

edging me onward into the shadows

paternally

I was handed my charge

one foot on white

one foot on black

straight tracks to walk

remaining intact

forcing intrinsic absolutes

along balanced parallels

cradles and graves

gospels and states

work and play

wore grooves deeper

with hell's intentions paved

and laid out before

no wavering

just proceeding

forever

until

for just a moment

unlike a million times before

my foot razed up

as sinews relegated service

when a question was posed

by a mentor

a teacher

a demon

the question?

inconsequential

but the subsequent repercussions

averted my gaze

I stumbled over my thoughts

and I fell

and in the midst of my downfall

my blinding guide extinguished

within the momentary chaos

every forebear collectively reached out and tightly grasped their exhalations

to see what might befall their legacies

the air was silenced

extinguished

as hollow eyes adjusted

catching the faintest glow

flickering

for just the tiniest moment

as flames died down to embers

and amber was all my eyes could see

but it was enough

I stood still

taking in my surroundings

one foot caked white

from traversing only lefts

the other caked black

from only traveling rights

my tumble

forced blacks and whites

to smear and smudge

and slowly grays were born

to blur the ground between my toes

for the first time

I could see back along the paths

which I fervently traveled

their paths uncertain

as to who had carved them

were these the grooves I was meant to deepen?

or a newfound intersection

as invisible understanding branched roads in every direction

unseen knowledge

swirling in the wind

be-speckled my lips

and I licked away their taste

no sooner had I done so

then a well

deeper and wider than all depths

formed from the darkness before me

I drank

with fear and ferocity

I ravaged

consuming until I couldn't

and then I nourished

and as I did

the awareness began to channel

kindling my fragile embers

and channeling into my core

understanding

as liquid amber

pumping intelligence through my veins

outward, upward

purging up and out my throat

gilding my limbs

and staining my soul

reminding me that there is so much more

once steady hands

no longer allowed to make contact

released their air

and cried out

“don’t question,

just resist"

when faced with mere uncertainty

eternity is just a frail moment

my ears went deaf to the past

I longed only for the future

wanting more

emboldened me to score

my own symphony

a song of bolder notes

an epic told with my light at the helm

straight lines begging to curve

first steps trotting along future lines

realizing along the way

I run with amber eyes open

seeing for the first time

no longer walking

I break my stride

and leap chasms

for now

amber dominates my every move

a digital data-vore

consuming electrons and becoming greater

each byte reflected in the glowing knowledge that permeates my world

energy to data transfers

amber is the hue that guides my path

but I’m sure it isn’t the last chroma I to embrace

for now

amber reminds me of the choices I've made to leave the past and run

gathering information

reevaluating my ever-shifting foundation

like ants supplying information back for communal consumption

so too are the tendrils of my digital reach

searching the depths of the data lakes for my next morsel to consume

for now

what makes me different is how I choose to navigate existence

other creatures share these waters

I know I’m not alone

but amber fills my eyes

and reminds me

to never stop moving

to never stop learning

to never stop becoming