I don’t need my glasses

I don’t need my glasses to see,

But I do if I want to see clearly.

 

With them I see wondrous things,

Luscious trees, adorable puppies,

Or the birds in the trees that sing.

Beauty, Innocence, hope,

Wonder, imagination, brilliance

All things that help me cope.

 

With them I see terrible things,

Mothers crying, Children dying,

People in the street rioting.

Hatred, death, hunger

Faithlessness, helplessness

People dying younger and younger.

 

Some days I want to take them off

To let the lines blur.

Mixing the good and the bad

But I can’t do that, no sir.

Being indifferent towards it all

I cannot let myself fall.

 

I know that the headache will go away

if I set them aside once or twice a day.

But I know that even if I look away

The pain will still be there the next day.

 

I don’t mind being blind,

I can leave it all behind.

If I just smudge the lines…

 

No. Water and oil don’t mix

This is nothing we can’t fix.

 

I don’t need my glasses to see,

But with them I can see clearly.

With them I see all that we were

and what could be.