What do you see?
Does the light in your eyes
still bend,
piercing the shadows?
Used to keep in mind
the little things,
and made others aware
that there were unseen worlds.
Now, you turn your head
and look away
whenever one’s destroyed
or sold into bondage.
Why are you afraid?
You used to be the one
that could take
the first light of Sun
and blaze a day with it.
Never saw the image
on your face
of fear,
or loss,
or hopelessness.
You would flash a smile
and bur away darkness
like a wildfire
spreading in the deadfall.
You wouldn’t know it, now.
The spark is gone
and so too, is your smile.
I don’t blame you.
This world has a way
of burning out
even the brightest of us.
The light has changed,
as if the Sun
has grown stronger
and now the shadows
become refugees.
We are all displaced,
and maybe that
is why I find you staring
off into a void
that once was filled
with purpose for you?
What do you see?
Is it the same thing
day after day?
Is it the hopelessness,
or the loneliness
of ashes?
We need you.
Your wit,
your smile,
and your cold fire,
before we all fall
and become tinder
for the flames,
like deadfall.
HG – 2022
