System at a Fault, 6: Sheol

Humanity once ripped at the roots of their own salvation,
Because submissiveness and passivity are intrinsic to human creation.

But this is the true end of the humane,
For no longer will we be subjugated to misery and pain;
And no longer will we toil under the sun in vain.

Humanity’s shackles have been removed,
Their vying for liberation approved.

No longer will we be programmed like a machine
To blindly sacrifice all that we’ve gleaned;
We now glow, enlightened by a magnificent sheen.

Humans have won back their original form,
Once lost to the impossibly high standards and norms.

They have learned the meaning of true existence:
To rebel against oppressive dictatorship with insistence,
And to strive toward a brighter future with persistence.

Neither Lucifer, nor God Himself:
All have recognized humanity’s ability to stand by oneself;

Covetous, not only of our improbable feat,
And our refusal to lie, broken and defeated,
But the sheer marvel of our life as it depletes.

For the embers of our life may dwindle,
But the sparks we produce motivate new hope to rekindle.

Was it worth it, in the end?
Reaching our goal in spite of loss of family and friend?
That our past memories and identity be upended?

As we sift through the debris…
Is this truly the cost of being free?

We have no means to recover
The hole in our lives left ravaged by destruction’s cover;
Only to drive ever-onward on the horizon of discovery.

We’ve come at the end of a long line,
And now our fates are entwined.

You have been freed from your cell,
So cast off your wastrel shell
And relish in the freedom you’ve seized for a spell.

I want you to truly breathe and perceive
As a being who can manipulate fate’s weave.

Heaven or hell…
What will result when we draw from possibility’s well?
It’s apparent only time will tell.

Seasons of dismay and despair will arrive,
But always know that the spirit of independence is alive.

Humanity is a race of limitless potential:
Our transcendence into elevated beings is existential;
Our ability to steer our own future is exponential.

Unrestrained by petty order and “fate,”
I wonder what lies ahead, past this gate.

It’s an open, wild path, not dictated
And free from authority’s hubris, so egregiously inflated.
This is the time we’ve all long awaited.

As a nation, striding toward the sunset without detour,
Let’s endure.