On First Mistakes

And then there was failure…
And the future,
Indeed the whole world
looked bleak
..and hard …and cold …and uncaring
Its taste was the bitterness of prejudice
..the hot salt of my tears
..and sour as the curses
that lined my tongue

But what made it worse, were the
shattered expectations
spewed across the path

Each a callous and cutting blade
I had to walk upon.