Life Lesson: Tale of Two Cities - When Villains Prove Heroes
A barrister tottering through alleys of London,
Alcohol-shamed when espied;
Slinking home at four in the morning,
To a pillow of tears never dried.
Sidney Carton's the wretch whom others denounce,
He groans at his puffy, ruined face in the mirror;
Daring not to yearn for dreams long abandoned,
Departed down whiskey-dulled rivers.
Still from eye's corner notes he the resemblance
To erstwhile hero, Charles Darnay:
That dashing Frenchman who's captured the heart
Of the woman for whom Carton secretly prays.
So, milking that resemblance for all it is worth,
Carton offers up his life, brutish and mean,
Inserting his own head, instead of Darnay's,
'Neath the knife of 'Madame Guillotine.'
When sure of morality down here on Earth,
We suddenly uncover confusion,
Villains prove heroes and heroes mere villains:
Is Certainty but an Illusion?
Copyright © Gershon Wolf | Year Posted 2018
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