In One's Perception of Light

The jaded child
sees the world
as both clear and opaque.
Some things make perfect sense.
Others none at all.
 
If you were one
you must remember how
it was in those minor years
that were the most
trenchant of your life.
 
Hard the changes fall
as our shadows lengthen
and pulse, and vanish
until they catch
the sun again.
 
Hard as the contractions
of time's birth itself,
and the fractures branching
like a family tree
in one's perception of light.

(First appeared in Dreams and Nightmares)