PUER AETERNUS

Once upon a time

All I wanted

Was to be a real, live boy

And live among other boys

As other boys lived.

For me it never happened     

I was called weird,

Different, hateful names

I could never become

The one thing I wanted most to be.

I’ve tried many things many times,

Substitutes, counterfeits

To fill the hole, quell the longing,

Pretend I have what is not there.

Now I’ve about given up.

I pray that when I get

To wherever I am going

What I feel I lack most

Will be there

Waiting for me.

In the meantime

Has anyone seen

My lost boyhood?

Or can anyone lend me

One they are not using?

If it can be so,

This eternal boy

Who never was, will be,

And will be eternally grateful,

And eternally complete.

-Chip Bergeron

-February 22, 2010