Depth Perception

Depth Perception 1/18/2012

Someone has turned on the light
But that doesn’t mean
That we can see
And even though the shadows run
It doesn’t mean
That they are gone.

I drove down the road at night
And watched the rain drops
Explode on the street
Spiraling downwards like silver tracers
And arcing back into heaven.

I noticed that the trees
Are like headless skeletons
Because all their leaves have fallen
Reaching out with bony fingers
Before the wind
Drives them away.

We go from one place to the next
And names faces and people change
But we all leave something behind
That will last forever.

Every thought, action and reaction
Causes a ripple in time
The emotion and the feelings
Spreading outwards in a wave
Invisible to the eye.

Though time dulls the senses
And memories start to fade
The most formative linger
And never go away.

The need is always there
And so also is the longing
That elemental need to love
And be loved.

Some people lie
And some people pretend
Easily forgetting
And walling them away.

But nothing is ever lost
And nothing is forgotten
Coming back to haunt the living
And judge the dead.

Many things we have thought
And many things we have justified
But in the end
All will come back
And then we will know.

In the meantime
This is the longest night
And with it, come the ghosts
Of the rejected
And the forgotten.

They have come back
And they will return again
Always unwelcome
But unforgettable.

Though we smile that fake smile
And though we whistle
And act nonchalant
They remain
Angry and defiant.

Always lurking beneath the surface
And ready to return
Summoned at once
By just a thought, smell, or sound.

Nothing is ever over
And nothing ever ends
Even the dead hearts still beat
And echo through time.

Nothing is hidden
And nothing is forgotten
Each and every word
And each and every lie.

We can explain it away
All that we want
But even then, and even now
We know
Whether we admit it
Or not.

We have gambled with the lives of others
And ignored the truth in our dreams
Finding fault and omission
But never seeing our own.

We have stolen
And we have threatened
Wounding the defenseless
And ridiculing the good.

For no man is without sin
And no man can escape
Because we are as free to walk
As we are to fall.

Nothing lasts forever
No matter how hard we try
And that should make us glad
Because even murder, theft and tyranny
Cannot conquer God.

The rain gently washes me clean
As I walk to the door
Opening at last
To what I was
The day before.