Writer's Challenge

Blinders On

“Time to put our very own blinders on!
Time to see nothing but what’s in front of us!
Since we must keep our minds and our hearts closed.
Since we must keep ourselves safe, pain avoided.”

Within my wandering days into years,
A curious place I came to find myself,
Where this was the message sent out to all
From those in command and in a stern manner.

And as I went into the town, I saw.
I saw the people and their blinders were on.
Standing guard were watchers, to make certain
They only looked ahead, not at each other.

I was out of place, I did not fit in,
Everywhere void of vibrancy, of color.
The people went where they went, no smiles,
Walking in the known, the mundane, the constant.

I searched for an answer, to find out why.
Someone who would want to help me understand.
There he was then, standing right beside me.
I asked him, “Why? Why don’t you want to see more?”

He talked of a time before the blinders.
The people saw their differences and they judged.
They saw and then that is all that they saw.
They began to fear themselves and each other.

I stood and I shouted to the people,
“Please, take off your very own blinders and see!
See those around you, beautiful and flawed.
See life as it is, exquisite and scary.”

Blank faces turned toward me, all eyes so wide.
Out of the gathered crowd, one person did speak,
“Our very own blinders is what freed us,
Root of our cautious, limited existence.”

“But wait, we want to see!” a few called out.
And those were the some who followed me away.
“Are you sad the rest did not come?” they asked.
“No, because they are content just as they are.”

So, in the distance behind us we heard,

“Time to put our very own blinders on!
Time to see nothing but what’s in front of us!
Since we must keep our minds and our hearts closed.
Since we must keep ourselves safe, pain avoided.”

© 2010 Sarah Donnellan

This was written for the current literary challenge, 'Blind' for The Inferno. Please go have a read at other member's interpretations and also a view at The Artist Challenge for the current theme, 'The Still Life'.