Nightshade

 

Nightshade

 

What is this black poison that seeps into the veins?

It creeps through,

Corrupting our decisions,

Bending thought to its will,

Seeking ever to destroy or subdue us.

 

What is this shadowy plague,

That spreads war, famine, death?

What is this,

That can cause us to lurch in despair,

That drives us to hate, anger, and malice?

 

It sows seeds of discontent,

Ever seeking to disrupt us.

It spreads lies, confusion, and disunion,

Like fire greedily devouring a dry tree.

 

This thing,

Turns brother from brother,

Father from son,

Husband from wife,

Friend from friend.

It destroys nations, communities, and families

 

This thing, is the opposite of all good.

Opposite from hope, faith, love.

It is the thing which is one of our greatest enemies.

To be ignorant of it would only serve to destroy us.

 

Each of us has this shadowy blackness.

It exists, hidden, in each of us.

Yet those who seek to destroy it,

Or those who do nothing,

Are fools.

 

This thing, is as a natural forest fire,

To extinguish the flame corrupts decision,

But so can letting the fires devour the whole forest.

There must be a balance between the two.

 

There must be a taming of this flame.

To not let it affect our moral decisions,

But show us the difference,

Between folly and wisdom.

 

 

To let our fear overcome us,

Would be as letting despair take hold,

But to quell that fear into nothing,

Would only serve to let our pride rule us.

 

If we can conquer our fear,

By learning to control it,

To know of its’ dangers,

Yet let them compel us to do what we know is right.

Even though we may dread it,

To go through that journey of darkness.

 

Let us discover our deepest fears,

Confront them and learn to live with them.

Let us rule the fear,

Not the fear to rule us.