9/28/2019
I met a man who spoke the truth.
He did not apologize.
He did not explain.
And he did not call
Upon another
To support his claims.
It was not until that day
That I heard the truth
You'll say I knew
And I suppose you're right
But how is a man
To see the needle
For the haystack?
I fear that now
I am spoiled to the chaff.
His words reached back
Like a magnet
To find truth there
The long while shining
And now I see it everywhere.
It's with me in the grocery store
And at the office
It walks beside me
Where the path
Leads beside the river
And it haunts me
Where before I slumbered,
Blissfully oblivious to all
But that which served
My keenest fancies.
I stumble through now
As best I can
And pretend
That I still care for caviar
And that it matters
Whether I get the promotion.
But my resolve weakens
And I fear that soon
I will not be able
To keep up appearances
For though lost
To that which served me,
I am found by the very thing
Which eluded me so long.
Or was it I that eluded it?
God only knows.
It's lonely.
That, I did not expect.
At least so far it is.
But I can sense
A host of others waiting,
Longing also,
For the family promised
To those whose lives
Are sacrificed
Upon the alter of Truth.
I am young to the alter
Still I burn there slowly.
And there you have it.
It turns out
That the poets' pledge is verified
By another to join their ranks -
One more fool
Whose life is wasted (if you must)
Upon the premise
That unseen things are paramount,
That they are real
Though hidden behind unnumbered facades
Not the least of which
Being cowardly people
Who fear to speak the truth unaided.
Thank God for the man
Who dared to say that thing
Which I always knew
But could not see
For the multitude of words.
