Poem November 23, 1981 Issue

This is the time to rise

BARBARA DIX HENDERSON

Watch out.
Those castles in the air
are substanceless.
Daydreams can lead to nightmares.
Confusion and hopelessness
would trick the dreamer
into desperate fears,
and pain and pleasure
mingle with his tears.

Wake up.
Why stay asleep
when there's a world of joy and hope
within a single leap
of stirring thought?
This is the time to rise
and let the sun,
the ceaseless light of Truth,
ignite the spark
just longing to be kindled into flame.

Burn bright,
steady and strong,
so that no night
is there to bring along
a host of miseries.
This is the day of Mind—
a way
to steer through desperation.
Stupidity can yield
to wisdom's penetration.
This is our right—
the only way
for unabated light
to illume each day.

Watch out—
wake up—
burn bright!

BARBARA DIX HENDERSON

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