“If you ever tried to see the world from my point-of-view, you’d realize I’m right,” the man told her.
“I wouldn’t want to pollute my eyes,” the woman replied. “But okay, okay—here’s what I’ll do:
“Just for today, I’ll try to see things as you see things.
“That should be easy enough for me to do. After all, I’ve heard you spout the same nonsense for years. Heard all about our dog-eat-dog world. And those silly conspiracies! Your words are firmly embedded in my brain.”
So the woman adjusted her mindset and went forth into the world…
…and that world soon began change before her eyes.
The shadows appeared to darken. Corners and edges sharpened and hardened. Now the trees seemed somewhat menacing. Were the smiles of the passersby actually malicious grins?
These changes frightened her, yet the woman continued.
“Maybe it’s smart to look at things this way,” she thought. “The world could indeed be a darker place, a harder place than I wish to believe. Maybe I’m a fool to take every smile at face value. Maybe the trees really do hate us—who could blame them?”
But then the birds in those trees stopped chirping. Instead, they shouted curses.
“Okay, that’s enough!” the woman yelled to the air. “Yeah, maybe my view of the world is a little too bright. Maybe I often reject the darkness of this life…
“But I refuse to live in a world where birds hurl curses.”
And so, with some relief, she stopped trying to think as the man thought, stopped trying to see as he saw.
However…
…after she snapped back, the woman noticed her view of the world wasn’t quite as sunny as before. Not dismally dark, nor dully gray. But with more degrees of shade. She realized her vision had expanded.
“So if I keep trying to see the world through others’ eyes, maybe I’ll have great vision someday,” she told herself.
In case you’re wondering, she still argues with the man…
But not so loudly these days. And not just because she’s seen the world from his point-of-view…
…but also because she now knows his pain.
© 2018, Michael R. Patton
sky rope poetry blog