Falling From Grace

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Before we knew of good or sin,
We played, we laughed, we danced within.
No voice inside to scold or praise,
Just light and breath and endless days.

 

No need to earn the joy we knew,
No mask to wear, no self to prove.
We lived without a judge inside—
No shame to feel, no face to hide.

 

But then a change that we would rue—
Joy gave way to “What must I do?”
From free to watched, from whole to split,
We entered judgment, bit by bit.

 

Approval whispers, soft and sly,

A glance, a nod, a lowered eye.

It molds our steps, rewrites our code,

And now we walk the narrow road.

 

Now every act is weighed and scored,
A mirror forms, a private court.
We ask ourselves, “Was that okay?”
And hope to not be cast away.

 

But then a change that we would rue—
Joy gave way to “What must I do?”
From free to watched, from whole to split,
We entered judgment, bit by bit.

 

Our myths arose to make it clear—
What we have lost, and why we fear.
Eden’s falling, or Satya’s flight,
All tell of trading joy for right.

 

From Torah’s law to Buddha’s pain,

From Daoist loss to Zoro’s flame,

Each tale retells that fateful birth:

When joy gave way to proving worth.

 

But then a change we can't undo—
Joy gave way to “What must I do?”
From free to watched, from whole to split,
We entered judgment, bit by bit.

 

Paradise was not a place—

But being whole, without the chase.

We didn’t fall through pride or sin,

We fell when judgment moved within.