If I had to tell a tale

if i had to tell a tale

I’d tell one long and complicated

a cast of characters revealed

listed in the hundreds of thousands

or more

just because of a feverish break

from reality as it has been defined

from long ago

but my role is neither narrator

nor protagonist

i bumble and stumble

through my days

lucky to avoid the bottom

dodging the heavier rocks

which fill this swollen stream

If i had to tell a tale

it could not be more focused

than to observe the struggle

of daily living in this blue shirt

toiling in the fields

my sabots clunky

soil beneath my nails

sun scars on my neck

If I had to tell a tale

surely it would swoon

from outrage to outrage

as one force after another

wrecked the environment

of this one idyllic life

if i had to tell a tale

it would be mine own

for there at least

i could be an expert

witness.

If I had to tell a tale was originally published in Nathan Eckenrode on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.