There they stand before a wall of darkness,
Hands clasped, begging for amnesty.
So long they have been heedlessly running,
Assured in their security –
Shadows now loom over them,
Children weep as their fathers curse
And mothers sit in resignation.
Here I am, no longer part of this world.
Warnings meant nothing,
Outspoken worries provoked only jest,
Murmurs and judgments.
Here I am, no longer part of their world.
The moment of superior judgment has come,
Finding them in a state of desperation.
Mere flecks upon the earth
In the larger scope of the universe.
They sulk in their helplessness -
The bravest of them are now gone.
Prayers are their only consolation.
Here I am, no longer part of their world.
There she stands, eyes trained upward
Her eyes red, hair unkempt
Arms clutched around herself for warmth -
Here I am, no longer part of her world.
Prayers reach me, to no avail
I can be no help to them now.
As the darkness finally overtakes them,
Here I am, no longer part of that world.
This poem is not typical of me. It was inspired by an e-mail from a dear friend, who is cursed with blindness and an acute sense of darkness in the world.