Daniel Freer, Fall 2011
There are times
When we need a light.
Something to show us the way,
Something to tell us what is important,
Something to make known what was before unclear.
Opaque
But what will be illuminated?
The light could be simply leading us astray.
And everything the light does not touch only seems darker.
What emits the light has chosen for you.
A specific path.
A specific plan.
A specific end.
No single path is right for two people.
There are times
When we see more than one light
And these lights compete for the prize of our eyes.
Trying to be brighter than the light adjacent.
PUshing us each and every way
Whatever may benefit them.
Whatever they think is right.
But Ultimately
Allowing us to choose,
Decide,
Deliberate,
Think.
This gives responsibility.
And therefore, anxiety.
For what if we decide wrong?
We need more lights.
More lights will show us the way.
Whatever shines brightest must be correct.
It must be
Some lights are stronger than others.
This does not mean they are more important
Or more correct.
There are times
When there are too many lights,
When a light becomes so bright
That we cannot move for fear of blindness
We cannot squirm for fear of burning
We cannot hope for less than
Complete
And utter
Darkness.
For what if the answer does lie in darkness?
We can feel around
Uncertainly
But that is all that can every be done.
For if one wanders too far,
One might not find his way back.
She is worried.
Vulnerable.
But a light is bound to come.
Pointing you
Somewhere.
And you take this advice, good or bad.
But we mustn’t forget.
We are all lights
And whether we
Leave a lost one to find his own path or
Shine a light on the situation
We mustn’t be brighter than her own light.
The choice is ours to make.
But one should not be alone in such a place.
So if you stray from the lighted way,
I’ll follow you into the dark.