Between the Tears and the Laughter

BETWEEN THE TEARS AND THE LAUGHTER

By A. Garcia-Wiltse

Suckled by the human breast --

Nurtured by the human beast within.

Children of the whirling winds of time –

Cloistered in a sphere of hate –

Revolving – evolving – dissolving –

Into a living vestibule

Of pulsating and throbbing commotion

That consumes and devours

The quiet consciousness of being.

While tears reveal

The sorrow and the agony --

And laughter lays bare

The joy and the ecstasy --

in between the tears and the laughter –

Private moments – hidden flashes

That shape and mold and form –

And eventually disfigure --

The face that displays and reveals

The beast that dwells within

The parched and scorched

Chrysalis of human form --

That withers, wilts and dies

Once exposed to the

Toxicity of time.

Conceived and then deceived –

Abandoned and forsaken.

Lost children –

Roaming and wandering –

Hapless and doomed.

While Time bares its fangs --

Like a serpent in the grass –

Venomous and lethal --

Waiting to strike –

Waiting to destroy –

The beauty of creation –

Children of a forgiving God.

And what creation is to blame –

The children – or time?

The arrogance of the children –

Or the arrogance of time?

Or – better yet –

Who is the Master of creation?

God or Time?