My own interpretation of Ithaca

Outside I went, a calming walk for a purpose
An hour to midnight, each man called off his circus
No more do the street sellers’ faces to seeing one shine
And the friendly neighbor’s window has been sealed shut
All the company I sought in heaven’s motherly light
I thought the skies up far, should have its singular eye
But it was unseen though everywhere I looked

I barely caught its glimpse, as it was hidden by clouds
Both dark and white, in a yin-yang unity
The strangest collaboration between pollution and purity
I wonder why the heavenly eye was fading
Was it done looking down and took cover in the puffed shading
So lonely it became up there, it followed the absent stars

Like all goodbyes, sad, I had no one left
But my own thoughts and this arising predicament
Have we lost our connection with all that’s divine
And this sinful barrier exists now dividing
The heavenly angels prevented from showering us with blessings
With the earthly ones unable to deliver our prayers
Our misery seems unheard of with the heavens going blind
And our welfare fell into hands of the reckless and unkind

Is it why justice isn’t served and selfishness became a virtue
Death is no more beheld sacred, nor one’s life respected
Is it why our dead can no more rest in peace
Or their winged souls no more reach the highest of heavens
Did the martyrs happen to meet their chained murderers
And while they’re both stuck, each other forgave
Pitying the living, for the mess they’re making
Maybe even sympathizing, knowing life was cruelly bone breaking

But if we don’t look up to recognize what we’ve lost
Commune to restore the balance, whatever is the cost
These utopian Ithacas*, Cavafy** once mentioned
Will never be redefined as “A generation’s redemption”

*Ithaca: an island in ancient Greece
**Cavafy: Constantine P. Cavafy
He wrote this poem about journeying to Ithaca