Chiseled

We come into this world 
handed perfectly, from heaven
like pristine blocks of flawless marble

We've come then so as to be defined
by the dual artists of time and life;
Pain and his sister, Joy

They chisel and scrape and brush
diligently at us to reveal our true forms; 
flawed yet perfect, pure yet changed

Different, yet simply who we are
not who we were meant to be;
but real and true, as true can be
 
And yet knowing this, we resist;
we clutch tightly at the deceit of pride
or bind on the blindfold of denial

We scrabble about on the dusty canvas 
that's laid on the floor of our life's studio,  
pecking, scraping for what we thought is lost

We search blindly, often frantically 
for the precious chips and blocks that those twins
have peeled away; yet they're gone forever

We sometimes find and then, hopelessly,
try to patch the fissures and hollows
with the detritus our duo have left behind

A fool's errand this; a false hope
for this is merely the dust and debris
of what was; not what is, nor what can be

We must leave that dusty art behind 
to learn to love what is and forget what was, 
before we may find, what can truly, be
Copyright © | Year Posted 2015

Poem

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Fleming Avatar
February 17, 2015 at 5:13 PM
A good solid philosophical bent embedded within your poem, David! :-) john.
Brown Avatar
February 18, 2015 at 3:52 PM
Thank you very much, sir. Always appreciate your comments and insight.
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