Individuality

Why cry? The world turns on relentless Of a tear, of a broken soul, And forges onward, Breaking the barriers of yesterday. The past shatters. Tiny fragments of the heart Splinter into infinity As each person grasps At one more day. Revolution takes The resolve of a nation But starts With each dream Bridled, broken, to ride Trotting tamely down a windy path. To train, to tame, to restrain, to kill; What difference is there? The mob Tramples intuition under feet Of brass. Each step, a bruise. Each step, a scar. The scale is set: Liberty and Justice for all or Liberty and Justice for one. What a lie the herd brays. There is no balance. Only the choice To do. To cry does nothing Weakness shines through the pretense of knowledge Corruption through the gauze of goodness Violence through the veil of negotiation. To weigh, to weigh To cry for a nation So consumed with ills or To cry for the self Crushed, fragile self Soft petals reach skyward Only to be trampled. Steel toes, pressed hems, Cold and unfamiliar Force reaching arms earthward. What good comes A mindless herd meanders Through slowly blackening fields? Nay, Let each soul speak Of its own, for its own, to its own. Let each shattered heart Return splinters to their place; No herd can do for the soul What a soul Can do for itself. Within each Is instilled a seed It longs to grow, to spread branches Over lofty mountains, Let it grow in each And let each grow in it.