LIFE

LIFE

by

S. FINBAR RYAN

 

I went to sleep a time

Then I awoke to find I died

A living death I then begin

Condemned

Avoided for my scars

 

It burns my flesh

Into the mind

Into the heart

Into the soul

Each day I die

It makes me yearn for love

 

They stare, they stare

And stare,  and stare

And downward cast their eyes

Friends

Wasted thoughts

They no longer care

 

I still remain a life

A broken flower of the world

A flower at which to stare

Not pruned and groomed

And looked upon

Those flowers wilt and die

This flower will and must survive

 

And then afar

A distant drum

A ray of light

A hope, a strike

In a forbidden land

That sets the pace

And still defies the world

 

The miracle begins

Life births anew

My new life now begins

I no longer live to die

I have survived

I live

 

Castro, Che, history

Now Cao joins the ranks

In a land of miracles

In Cuba

I salute new life

 

Havana

May 25, 1988