by Peter Venable

The Eye Is The Lamp Of The Body
             — Matthew 6:22

Through a red lens
     I see shells, missiles, fiery explosions, smoldering rubble, bloodshot skies, body bags . . . 

Through a blue lens 
     I see souls downcast, grieving, sorrowing, suffering, strollers left at trailway platforms . . .

Through a yellow lens
     I see specters of worry dusting sulfur powder over every surface, every face . . . 

Through a black lens
     I see the world in smoke and darkness, hope shaded away, the eyes of The Skull . . . 

Through a pink lens
     I see salmon hues on blossoming lilies outside an abandoned limestone vault . . . 

Seeing those colors kaleidoscoping in me.
     I take off all lenses, clearly see 
          the Light of life 
               within and without me. 

---

Peter Venable has written sacred and secular verse for many decades. He has been published in Ancient Paths, Prairie Messenger, Time of Singing, American Vedantist, The Anglican Theological Review, The Christian Century, The Merton Seasonal, Windhover and forthcoming in Spiritus. His Jesus Through A Poet’s Lens is an eBook and print version available at petervenable.com.