Blind, and weighing in

This poem is from a collection I published in 2019 – Unringing the Bell – it is a quick nod to justice as it weighs a soul moving from this life to the next. As a child I loved reading mythologies from various cultures. The Egyptian weighing of the soul against a feather (with the soul symbolized by the heart), was always intriguing to me – and brought to mind the term “light hearted” whenever I saw the illustrations – much to the chagrin of my English teacher at the time. That same English teacher required that I read the works of Jorge Luis Borges – in an attempt to get me interested in higher literature. He never understood that my first love was fantasy followed quickly by science fiction – I’d have been happier reading any of those. The Borges works are steeped in religious overtones, some of which are echoed in scifi, and so I managed to slog through them and report on the works adequately to satisfy my teacher. I hope that he forgave my less-than-enthusiastic approach to his attempts. In retrospect I did appreciate his efforts. And think fondly of him to this day – may his soul be “light hearted” wherever he is in the afterlife.

Blind, and weighing in

From every salty tear that made its way
seeding the streams that mark old age;
From every broken promise, 
blood or sweat inked on the page;
From every stolen sigh, or 
star bright innocence stained by force;
From golden hoard, or fame achieved
From green eyed guilt, from sad remorse;
Each soul is weighed against the feather
Each truth sublime, from body is untethered.