The theft of innocence

I'm not innocent
nor guilty of crime
except maybe a lack of innocence
I remember not a time I possessed it
I do glimpse in the mirror of memory
your brilliant outline
a shining openness
a trust without question
and I stood by
as they stripped you to the marrow
and watched as you were exposed
to the vileness of the beasts
my indifference, my cowardice
justified by the lie
that innocence is nonsense
now that it's gone
and the room is dark
I know, it was the light
a simple beauty removed from time
inhaled by few and savored forever