Author Information
Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory
One
quick flash of light struck the heavens with all its might,
and poured its heart into the making of a new beginning.
The soil gleamed at the airy grace as it draped its warmth
upon the breast of life and breath.
The trees rustled as a breeze lightly tickled through the branches,
waking each with a whisper.
“Cast your eyes not directly at the brilliance so meticulously created
as the sole care-giver of life and man, or your eyes shall never see the glory.”
And just as the tides turn to accommodate your needs,
the shadows grind the fire of all fires into the dust it was created from
to make way for the cooler side of love.
Icicles drip as the willows weep in agony of their wisdom,
for they know some will never see the light of day.
Smog settled in the sky out of respect for the dying,
the smoke and ashes of a newly extinguished star.
Another wish that burned in the atmosphere,
another failed attempt to wipe darkness from our eyes-
but the balance between good and evil, day and night,
was corrupted by the wickedness of man.
“Step forth into the light, my child. As long as One decent believer
dedicates himself with the purest of spirit,
darkness cannot choke the hope from our hearts. More will follow,
and this I promise you: Your eyes shall see the glory.”
And thus the search for truth began,
ransacking the homes of respectable men
and temples where honesty is not always the policy.
Behind the façade of decorum laid proof
of the conspiracy among those with stature
to steal from us the very core of humanity,
turning one man against the next to feed their own selfish desires.
But where did the bedlam end?
All that was accepted as right and true
had been merely a distraction to satisfy the doubting minds.
The balance between good and evil was tipped long ago
without our careless minds ever taking heed,
tipped under the watch of anxious eyes-
eyes that shall never see the glory.
“I beg of you, reconcile! Join together in the masses
a world that knows nothing of love. Welcome a stranger
into your heart, so everyone may have a greater chance
for a better quality of life.”
Instead of embracing the children of poverty and ruin
who reek with the stench of suffering,
humanity turned the other cheek,
pushing away the guilt and shame that tugged at their conscience,
begging for them to give just a little as hobos in the street plead for food.
Refined men sought the Golden Mean and Platonic Love-
wise men know it can’t be found.
With the blessings of modern science and technology,
this generation would appear to be one of change and acceptance;
yet mankind still clutches old-fashioned ideals that not all men are created equal
and helping others help themselves is not nearly as important as helping ourselves.
“My soul bleeds for the ignorant, the arrogant, and the humble;
not one person is innocent of spreading this epidemic,
yet everyone has washed their hands clean of responsibility.
Little do you know, you’ve washed them in blood.”
Man crawls across the earth with dirt beneath his nails,
purging his illness into his hands.
He raises his glass and tips the balance,
leading our children further into the shadows and away from that One, decent man.
Devastation lingers on our tongues, singeing our taste buds
and spitting its poison into the faces of the few good men still standing.
“You are all weapons of mass destruction,
stammering fools who have the power to save your souls,
but without the ability or the will. If I smite you now you cannot destroy each other-
yet our suffering will have all been in vain.”
A man of his word, the sun rose in all its splendor, much more severe than before.
The glory, oh the glory of truth.
Light was shed on the darkest shadows of doubt,
but how quickly we forgot.
“Yes, your eyes have seen the glory; you’ve felt it in your breast,
felt it dry in your throat, felt it expand within you. You made an attempt
to waken the dead in all of us; but you have failed.
Yet, you have seen it.”
And as the sun set one last time I closed my eyes against its brilliance;
Yes, mine eyes have seen the glory.
