25 Hour Watch

‘You’re like no one I’ve ever known,’ she says to me quite slow;
‘The way you think, the words you speak; your feelings ever flow.
Seeing good in everyone, all mankind before your eyes,
The purest light, the deepest dark- you, they mesmerize…
Why care you for strangers as if they are your kin?
How see you their feelings when they keep them locked within?
Whence comes this need ‘twixt bad and good yourself to ever thrust?’
‘Knowing both extremes so very well,’ I say, ‘I must!
Anger, rage, hatred, greed, each have been my name
Desire to destroy, to rend; make all, as me, feel shame
If the light within was naught but dark, their light shined as a sword
Thrust deep into my dark, it would not, could not be ignored
That light, though all my darkness fought to stay both black and dead
First viewed as my great enemy, it saved my life instead!
Thus, I know the ties, the cords, which bind one down in the abyss
Taking years to recover strength from one ‘innocent’ demon’s kiss
I’ve felt the wretchedness of glorious futures that I lost
I see in sharp relief the terrible price, the years, the cost
As I view their pain, I live once more through all my own
Then turning to the future, I realize how much I’ve grown
I know that, all along, each soul carries their great load
I can see their vast potential!
I must help them walk this road!’