Prism

Prism
by Owen Leskovar

Blue.

The mind of a man is a slate to be made
In the image of those who he keeps as his friends
But the smog of emotion that oft clouds the brain
Is a pollution the rational mind can transcend

The heat of the moment, the haze over thought
Robs us of our dignity, and of our wits
Given the chance, time heals all wounds
Rather than robbing a man of his intelligence

We should be blue as a glacier, stoic and calm
Lucid and balanced, and seeking our path
Combing the world and unearthing its secrets
Rather than being enslaved by our wrath

Red.

Red is the color of life and of blood
That hurries and turns through our hearts and our veins
The fervor of love, the longing for freedom
A spirit that casts off all shackles and chains

It's warmth and it's love with no calm or restraint
With no cold eye that judges with rational thought
Like the machines that we paint as black and opaque
Because they embody the things we are not

It's destructive, shortsighted; no barriers observed
A spirit that can't be restrained or subdued
And at their weakest, the feeblest coward
Is still somehow redder. Well, redder than blue.

Black.

I have heard those who told me that life was a fire
And that we're persons of passion who refuse to be caged
And I've listened to those who say we're curious creatures
But to be fully human we must imprison our rage

But the answer to life is much simpler than that
We are all ourselves, nothing more, nothing less
And so we must seize what we feel we deserve
And at last be in charge of our own happiness

It may not be appealing, but it can't be denied
That we're opportunistic, and we'll snatch what we crave
From the weak hands of others (but liars the same)
Those who aren't the masters are fated as slaves

White.

A competitive world of kings and of serfs
Perpetuates evil in all of its forms
We must be united, and equal in all ways
If our weakened spirits are to weather this storm

We must be sober, find truth in each other
Look inwards if that's what will help us obey
The laws and commandments that endeavor to usher
Us into a tomorrow without disarray

It isn't a cage if it keeps out the darkness
And it isn't oppression if it keeps you safe
For what good is freedom if it leads you to ruin?
If your glass house is sheltered it won't ever break.

Green.

Those looking to change things by now look too far
Life's perfect in how it was firstly conceived
We shouldn't be shackled, cut loose, or "protected"
Nor should we see others as tools to deceive

The natural order is not just blind passion
It's not icy reason, or black selfishness
And yet we cannot be slaves to each other
Or cracking reflections of benevolence

We don't need to strive to meet some ideal
Or change our own instincts to meet abstract laws
We should be content with what nature intended:
Glorious, growing, and wonderfully flawed.