High Above the Clouds

A poem/story on the powers of regret

Aaren Herron
5 min readJan 7, 2023
Photo by Johny Goerend on Unsplash

In a small quaint town
Resting high above the clouds
A community swells in the evening chill
Glowing in remembrance of their redemption

Lands once deserted and barren
Housed the existence of just one son
Left alone to pick up the pieces
Billions of shards of self needing stitches

The life that once filled these lands
Left long ago with the joy of pretend
Lush fields of numerous greens
Grazing deer in harmony with the trees

A great storm would come
Guided on a sinful breeze
Rotting the leaves
Bleeding out the bunnies and the trees

But in their weakest moment
When dust filled the air
Coating every layer of existence
A savior in white road in on the morning sun light

With the help of his hand
A community was formed
Seeding these barren lands
Fortifying decaying lumber homes

The deer and the honey bees returned
Living a life reignited with purpose
Expanding the lands beyond what could be heard
Communities across beings once again felt abundance

The cycle of nature evened out into harmony
Growth counteracting all decay exponentially

This new found growth allowed for our town
To finally reach outside the limits of its own bounds
A tower was rectified miles high
Embodying the connection they all felt inside

But soon a baby was born
An idea formed in the midst of a storm
Taken hold by the breath of darkness
Floated in on the harshest of winds

A spy began growing deep within
Unbeknownst to our community
Born on the memories of past sins
Hiding in shadows and high up in trees

Growing alone and isolated from all family
The darkness only shines greater
A being in the shadows removed from serenity
Building the grounds for an ultimate hater

Ignored and disguised in existence
Our spy begins his attempt at the evilest of sin
In the cover of the night
He ventures into town to cut out all light

Held in the center of town
Stands the tower where reception is found
Climbing miles up and not making a sound
Our spy dismantles connection for all those around

The community once broadcast across the lands
Now rests isolated from the world
A painful reminder of the days with no plan
Where no weight could ever be held

Our spy journeys out towards the fields
Poisoning the earth and clogging all wells
Unbeknownst to our community
The progress of their will is burning internally

Crops begin to whither
Deer begin to cry
The bunnies are left to shiver
The birds can no longer fly

Smoke begins to rise through the sky
Bleaching the air and choking the trees
Life sucking clouds forcing our community
Herding them towards the center of the city

The people all wail in despair
Their beloved community has fallen once more
Unaware to the great evil that was grown from within
They project a great roar in fear of how they might’ve sinned

The unknown begins to terrorize
Hemorrhaging all faith left within their eyes
There must be a reason for their darkened lives
Distrust in others begins to hypothesize

In the confusion
Our spy inflicts a deeper contusion
Chiseling away at the foundational stone
That builds up each and every home

Roads begin to crumble
Community centers dislocate from each member
Safe havens of beauty and power
Now rest floating down the river

Through all the town’s confusion
One being stands baked in the light
He pleads for these friendly beings
To stop for all that is right

“This isn’t our doing
We bear no false deeds
An evil is stirring
And it wishes us to bleed”

The people seldom listen
Questioning his pleas
But as the live stock fail to breed
They wish only not to leave

“We must stop the preying
We’re not build for this deceit
If any amongst us aren’t trying
May your presence be relieved”

The town folk wait in silence
Unsure of if to breathe
When a lone being
Remains chiseling at their sleeve

High atop the mountain
An axe glowing in blood
His presence is more showing
For his smile lacks all dread

The people shout from below
Wishing he would leave
But a wimpish little bellow
Will not pierce his weave

Our being of light
Doesn’t wait in the growing sand
He marches forward
Hoping to finally understand

Gravel and rock slide under his feet
Attempts to wobble are left incomplete
For the power of the light pushes onward
Sights set on an evil hidden like a coward

Unaware to the shine of the light
Our spy continues without even a freight
But not very far below
An echo starts to show

A question for truth
Or maybe an attempt to move

“Why do you bleed such darkness
So evil and so true
Isn’t this community
Also built for you?”

The evil stirs
Stopped dead in his tracks
With a wicked turn
He begins with no tact

“It’s not a community
Only plastic on stilts
There can be no such heaven
When it’s people tell only tall tales”

“What deceit is it you speak of?
For we are open and kind
Rebuilding all that is left beneath us.”

“You think this brilliance is built so fine
Like marble and steel or a bottle of wine
But your falsehood shall be left to shine
It’s only a matter of time”

“It is true, once we were broken
Untether to all kind
But that’s often better left unspoken
Only presented to remind

For all the pain once endured
Is deeply scarred into the mind
Leaving only a hope for what is pure
To entreat all your kind”

The spy remains still in frame
Holding the blood that defined his name
The light steps forward
Waiting for a response to be sent onward

“But what do I do?
Now that I’ve destroyed
For I’ve come from within you
Only deeply annoyed”

“My friend, it does not help
To bee so deeply paranoid
We’ve all touched a drop
Of the evil that you’ve enjoyed”

“But how is it you avoid?
It’s taste is so divine
I feel greatly addicted
To this deeply poisoned mind”

“You have only to let go
And join your fellow kind
For together we shall grow
And float up into the shine”

The blood has faded from his axe
And tears have flooded through
He only needs but one chance
To be born anew

An evil on the wind
An idea from all kin
Sneaks through the night
Unbeknownst to all in sight

But a community in force
Can bring about the light
To tame an evil’s approach
And set the balance right

What once was built before
Will sprout up again
But an idea can’t ignore
The presence of your sin

Let them rest in the past
In the scars upon your skin
For this moment shall pass
But it’s dreams will return again

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Aaren Herron
Aaren Herron

Written by Aaren Herron

Creative writer working to hone his craft, no longer at the expense of a mental state.

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