'I Can See You, But Not Inside You' Poem by Trevor Valentine

'I Can See You, But Not Inside You'
by Valentine

I can see you
But not inside you

I can see your cross
Or your scarf
Or your cap
But not know
What they might drive you to do

Is it in the name of religion
You might do these things
Or is it power
A collective expansion
A retribution
Or just madness

Should I judge you all the same
Or see you as one singular voice

What drives you to do what you do
I can only believe in your ultimate goodness
But how can that validate
What you do

Ah, you say:
I do or did it too
First
Did I?
Perhaps I did
Misguided

If I admit this
Will you?
Or is the vase broken
Never to be reformed

How long before this deadly mix
Of politics
And religion
Is seen for just what it is
The devil reincarnate
The hurt
The fear
The blood

It effects them all

How different
Is your faith from mine
Is yours nurtured, believed
Imposed
Required
Or is the secular freedom
I strive for
Something which deep inside
You secretly seek out too
Or is that my ignorance
Or even blind arrogance

It has always been
That the silent majority
Will prevail
But sometimes not before they have been mustered
Together
In one collective voice
And strength

The truth
Whatever it is
Will always emerge
And we both must listen
And try to understand

It is the only way.