If I only had eyes,
Then perhaps I could see
An escape from this dungeon;
A way to be free.
But the darkness surrounds
Turning day into night,
And the deeper I search
Still fainter grows light.
Have I been here before?
Lost deep in this tomb
Or be this a dream
A return to the womb?
Though blackness may greet
Each unfortunate child,
'Tis different; for to me
Her blackness is mild.
For ordinary absence
Of light this is not,
'Tis deafening; a quenching
Of life, love and thought.
Though at first one can fight,
It waits for the day
When the fighting grows doubtful
And asks it to stay.
Have I truly been searching
To flee from this place?
Or has the blackness grown friendly
A familiar embrace?
The darkness, though empty
Beckons softly to me,
I have seen it all wrong -
In darkness I am free!
Unless for one moment
I pause; as I must
Perceive if the darkness
Is deserving of trust.
For darkness, though free
Is not freedom kind,
'Tis free for the lost
And home to the blind.
But the case is not so
For those blessed with eyes,
For eyes can discern
The truth from the lies.
If I only had eyes,
Then perhaps I could see
An escape from this prison
And freedom from me.
-(e.h.)
