Gallery of Reality

A corridor with no corners or doors.
A train of restless, moving pictures,
telling unquestionable truths:

A sickly, barren forest,
its borders receding until they meet
and vanish forever.

A majestic bald eagle,
spreading its wings with soaring content,
free in spirit and flight.

A brother and a sister,
clutching each other, with no warm clothes,
food or shelter ' only desperate survival.

A ring of children, holding hands
of white, chocolate, and coffee hues,
as they sing and play as best friends.

Bullet-riddled buildings,
cars and conflicts exploding,
the hearts of people splintered and torn.

A tranquil summer's evening
as the sun goes down and the stars poke through,
and I lie on the grass by your side.

These and other pictures,
beautiful and ugly, simple and complex,
show what we hope for ' and what we despise.

No sugar-coated tales to lick dry.
No politically-twisted catch phrases.
This is our world in its every façade.

Innocence robbed, security shaken,
but faith is neither lost nor waning
when walking through the gallery of reality'¦

as history paints itself for all to see.

© S.E.L. 6/15/2006

Want to comment on this Poetry? Sign up to Edit Red and you will be able to comment on Poetry and get access to: Upload your own stories and poems, get readers and their feedback, promote your work...