The Precipice

The Precipice

By Tony DeLorger © 2013

I struggle to the precipice,

inch by inch,

limbs aching, breath gasping,

and look beyond the distant horizon,

beyond the vivid green valleys and life unfolding,

and with eyes squinted, pleading clarity,

I see only darkness, a void,

and my soul is wracked with pain.

That must be wrong,

my eyes deceive me, the distance blurred,

and I blink, praying my sight redefined,

but again, the truth stark and empty,

a cold and lifeless darkness presents itself,

and I am a broken man, a heart shattered,

a soul receded,

and all hopes dashed.

Why do I see darkness,

when my heart lives in hope,

and why does it surprise me so,

perhaps my hopes deluded into expectation,

and I feeling more alone than before,

isolated and in fear of what I have failed,

what we all have failed,

in this our earthy voyage.

The world is filled with such beauty,

such miracles of perception,

I weep in their presence,

overwhelmed by creation,

yet my cognizant mind is driven back

to the pain and struggle of a world bleeding,

hatred and judgement,

rage and deception the path of lives.

And I wanted to know,

to climb that mountain and vision truth,

to see beyond that horizon,

when all along proof surrounded me,

the sadness behind eyes,

the meaningless drone existences,

enacted by lost and wanting souls,

too in fear to hold onto hope.

What will become of us,

our hearts yearning for love,

when the cold dark end looks squarely at us,

begging change, a tireless ultimatum,

and how will we guide ourselves to redemption,

and cut through that darkness,

to bathe in light,

and forge a possible future.

The future is ours to make of it.