The Times
Today we live in the best of times
And the worst of times
We live in an epoch of belief
Followed by epochs of incredulity
Incredulity that raised two young boys
One is Lamar, the other is Amir
Now this incredulity that is so abundant in society
Caused Lamar to fall of the wagon that was his piety
He used to pray daily
But now he just hopes that he isn't someone's daily prey
And Amir never believed in God to begin with
Because how can a child be born into Hell
When the hands that sinned weren't his
This is an age of wisdom
This is an age of foolishness
And they say that wisdom comes from old age
And old age comes from experiences
But Amir wants to know how young can you die of old age
Because he's experienced hails of gunfire and torrential bullet rains
And he thinks that, that is enough
He thinks that is enough to make him want to
Grow old and die already
Or to Grow old and blind already
Or Grow old and lose his mind already
Because he's already lost his innocence
And Lamar would share this sentiment
But he never had any innocence to begin with
Because war struck him from the womb
He opened his eyes for the first time and saw people who were ready for their tombs
Dying
Dying
Dying
Dead
From their wounds
With his innocence dying with them
So from the moment he was born, he was old
But Benjamin Button had nothing on him because
When Button was born his heart was warm but
Lamar...Lamar's was cold
The heat sucked out by all the people he had to watch die
All before he knew what it meant to truly be alive
This is the season of Light
This is the season of Darkness
The beauty of light only means as much
When you know how it feels to be wrapped in Darkness
While blanketed in Darkness Lamar found his Light
His family
His brothers
His merry band of nearly men
With whom he shared his soul
With whom he shared his hopes
With whom he shared his dreams
Dreams he only shared with them
Because they knew his grief
They knew that life gave no relief
So you must struggle for every inch of reprieve
Lamar loved his brothers
Lamar loved his colors
A love that Amir knew well
He himself being Baptized in his colors
As he traversed his own Hell
Looking to them for comfort
And looking to those who wore them
As fathers,mothers, sisters, and brothers
As family
As the only family he's every truly known
Not the only family that he's ever loved
But the only family that's ever loved him back
They gave him purpose
They have him meaning
They gave him a new life
But they also gave him death
And now Amir is lying on the ground
Blood trickling from his mouth
Tears cascading from his eyes
His heart broken, as he slowly but surely dies
Having learned that the worst thing about betrayal is that
It never comes from you enemies
A concept that Lamar knows too well
As he himself stares at his reflection in a pool of his own blood
As he looks around and realizes how much he was actually loved
And as they both lay dying
They smile
They smile at the fact that
It is a far far better rest that they go to than they have ever known
Today we live in the best of times
And the worst of times
One of those boys is a child soldier in Africa
The other lives in one of the poorest neighborhoods in one of the biggest cities in America
So, you tell me what kind of times we're actually living in
Because I'm not so sure anymore