Photo Prompt: The Wrong Side

Hiding.

Cowering in the undergrowth

waiting for them to leave.

Is this how I am reduced?

Money.

Influence.

Power.

All have been held tight,

my legacy secure

and yet here I am

a fugitive

in my own land.

How quickly things change.

Once I was important;

titled,

respected.

Now my name means nothing.

Loyalty, once rewarded,

is valueless in this new world.

My country torn apart

by petty rivalries

and ambition,

one man against another,

private views betrayed

arrest warrants issued.

This is my land, where

once my word was law;

one word proved my downfall,

undid me.

Escape, exile.

Two sides of the same fate.

Principled man

Or refugee?

Neither label deserved.

My family remain and

I pray for their safety; without me

they are no threat

and may be left in peace.

One day I will return

and reclaim my place

among the great and the good,

but for now I will hide,

take my chance

and board the boat

away from this place I love,

to a place where I can be

free.