The Two Sadnesses (c) 1999 William Edward Ilse

Looking out, what do I see?
I see two sadnesses.

I see Melancholy Madness lifting its head from salted hands.
The blurred gaze strains against the suction of dark clay memories;
It scorns my distorted, fading, portraits on the ever-encroaching walls.

But, beyond the horizon, I see Hope Deferred dropping its head beneath contentious winds.
Its uncontrolled tears moisten my fertile soil.
A garden births in my groin.
The child wakes, dancing up and down across my face.
Its russet mares foal again in my arms.
My sphere face turns instinctively toward the new sun;
Toward the Hope that runs free across the land;
I see its feet of golden light sprinting
through the warm rows of sweet sugar beets.

Looking out, what do I see?
I see two sadnesses.