-- What If the Blind Could See --

by John Herlihy

Why those who can see seem blind,

Unlike the blind who in other ways see.

A blind seeing as a kind of habit of mind,

To see the physical world without mystery.

What if it were only the blind,

Only the blind who could really see.

No outer vision of a physical kind,

But an inner vision to behold a mystery.

What lies inside the sense of smell,

Scents that register the foul and fair.

The beauty of floral perfumes to foretell,

The scent of the rose, of jasmine, as prayer.

We listen to the world and its incessant noise,

The absence of sound we take no special notice.

Whereas silence a source of contemplative joys,

As darkness of night celebrates the floating lotus.

Ah, the messages the outer senses send,

As waves on the shore our minds to inspire.

Outer senses with the inner senses to blend,

To set the dry kindling of the heart on fire.

Our taste buds favor both bitter and sweet,

Some favor the pickle, others the mango.

Only taste the other senses happily greet,

Taste and smell dance an elegant tango.

Finally, the sad, lonely sense of touch,

Who doesn’t favor a feathery finger.

What it means to no longer be touched,

Momentarily inspired, afterthoughts linger.

Who says that the blind never anything see,

Who knows if, what, whether the deaf hear.

To be robbed of one sense, sets another free,

Envisioning the world from the tip of a spear.

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Copyright © John Herlihy

Friday 23 August 2024