I Am Not Blind Poem by Maurice Harris

I am not blind, but I do not see what I do not see;
Thus, I can only be what this cecity allows me to be.
I cannot remember what my brain decides not to keep,
Nor may I control when my heart decides to weep.
I am merely what my God gifts and avows me to be-
I am no longer my erstwhile self, and this I cannot be!
I did not decide, nor choose this path that I now trod-
It was a choice I could never make, it was made by God.
You may look and see me as uncaring and terse,
Yet, it is not you who must live with this curse.
I know the ‘me' who lives inside,
I know the man I was before I died;
I cannot be ‘him' any more-I've tried;
I am merely a man who shan't be denied:
Whose loyalty and love should invoke pride
And reciprocity, which might serve to guide
And heal the rift that exists deep down inside;
Surely, in this endeavor, we both need be allied.
Does not the oft-anguished heart deserve this?
If we've found a glimmer of same in each
Should we not fight mightily to preserve this?
For, love is light-and this is all I wish to preach.
Perhaps I am not enough, though I wish to be;
You are enough, and this, I wish you'd see-
Not just today or for a time, but for the lot of it.
I shall never forsake thee, so banish the thought of it-
Do not allow this to be your alibi for ruin lain our ardor;
The enchantment of this fragile heart none may barter,
Yet you achieved same in spite of my steadfast guard;
Its furtherance is inevitable, we could never hope to retard
Or stop this divinity, so let us embrace it, and in it, invest-
We have both found that which we sought and are truly Blessed!

- Maurice Harris,24 December 2014