A Man of Many Names

He began as an infantile
conglomeration of infinite names
Oblivious to the affairs
Of the refugees who, on that fateful day,
Chose to embrace him.

Unfortunately incognisant
Of the lifestyle he'd known previously,

They named him Opportunity.

And through them he learnt organisation:
churches and schools and familial structure,
Small towns, and, as they spread vir'lly, plantations.

Through his adolescence, he watched
Proliferation, expansion, diversification
His instinctive heart dictated resistance,
But he stepped across expansive plains
Following new facts crammed into his head
Trampling what he once knew were flowers,
Regarded instead now as nothing but weeds.

They named him Destiny.

Young adulthood brought a questioning
of his values, once clear
On one shoulder, a cobalt angel
who opposed, on the other, a grey devil,
grey, like spiralling, swirling, stifling smog.

He was called Oppression.

He slowly learned to discern
Injustices, irreparable errors;
gashes he could mend but never ignore.
He discovered his potential for greatness
Innovation and industralisation
Were his greatest allies.

He matured and became
the cynosure of the world,
to be feared, respected, and
For the elite he resembled,
Allied and befriended.

Over a century the good fought the bad,
Black and white and simple.
In each instance victorious,
he was the ultimate saviour, while
They were conquered, mocked, and belittled.
Black and white and simple.

He called himself Democracy.

A full-fledged adult, egotism afflicts
as he sings his own praises
with obnoxious reverence.

Acquaintances, once allies,
shoot glances with connotations
which he cannot fathom, for
His adoration is their bemused condescension.
He is the train wreck
They can't help but watch.

They call him Foolish.

Anthems of patriotism fill his ears and his head
so that he needn't regret
eliciting screams of the inferior believers--
of the same ancient mythology--
he's decided to liberate.
Yet he lacks understanding,
a key puzzle piece to
the map of redrawn borders
he has helped to dictate.

He calls himself Freedom.