Our Narrow Perspective

Blinders…
Amish buggy clopping down the road
Horse looking straight ahead pulling her load
Not seeing side to side // distractions might scare
Blinders shading each eye // make her unaware.
On down the road and into the barn
Knows her place // she always goes home

*
Just like us clopping down the road
Choosing our blinders pulling our load;
Refusing to see what’s all around us.
Distractions might scare us // the news might blind us
Tell us we might be wrong // or twist our thinking
With all our choices, it could drive us to drinking

*
As long as we can see straight ahead
We stay on course knowing we’re lead…
Down the road of our personal choosing;
We forge ahead even though we’re losing.
Unlike the horse, who must wear her blinders
We choose to ignore reality’s reminders

Photos: Dwight L. Roth

With the new election year coming up, I thought this little rerun jab might wake us up!

Blinders

Unlike the horse in the photo, we choose the blinders that we wear. Setting our course straight ahead it is easy to ignore the things around us. We choose our neighborhood, our schools for our children, our religion, and our politics that suits our thinking. We believe we are right and others who are different from us are wrong.  We avoid the things that make us uncomfortable or challenge our thinking. As I wrote in an earlier poem, we often seek comfort over truth.

Blinders

Amish buggy clopping down the road

Horse looking straight ahead pulling her load

Not seeing side to side distractions might scare

Blinders on each eye make her unaware

On down the road and into the barn

Knows her place she always goes home

Just like us clopping down the road

Choosing our blinders pulling our load

Refusing to see what’s all around us

Distractions might scare us the news might blind us

Tell us we might be wrong in our thinking

With all our choices could drive us to drinking

As long as we can see straight ahead

We stay on course knowing we’re lead

Down the road of our personal choosing

We forge ahead even though we’re loosing

Unlike the horse who must wear her blinders

We choose to ignore all of our reminders

***********************************

Photo of Pennsylvania Amish Horse and Buggy – Dwight L. Roth

Telephoto Zoom

 

Our view of life and the people around us determines the future. Our children and grandchildren will learn from us. If we are racist or bigots they will pick it up. If we are caring and compassionate they will learn that as well. Most of us see life through a very narrow lens. I have heard people say, if you ever visit a third world country, you will never be the same again. A broader view of the world brings change. Perhaps this is why we find life so challenging in our ever changing global society. Many people, including myself, find change difficult to accept.

I focus my life through a telephoto lens

Edging back and forth depending on my mood

Standing back to get a wider view

Still only seeing what’s in my lens

There’s a whole world out there

Behind beside above and below

Yet I only see life through my skewed view

Drawing in what I really want to see

Ignoring those I don’t care about

Pulling back to include a few friends

Focusing in to ignore the rest

No wonder it is so heard to hear the cries of the poor

The pain of the displaced or the drowning refugee

Life’s so much easier with my telephoto-zoom

Armchair quarterback with a clear but limited focus

Zooming in while the whole world cries out around me

Stay focused it seems so clear to me

Some say I need to change my lens

Widen my focus for a broader panorama

No, much easier to be self-absorbed with a telephoto view

Changing lenses would be much too inconvenient

The older I get the more I am sure of my view

Stay focused

Wear the blinders

Indifference my greatest sin

Life goes on