A blind man sat with not a care
upon a beaten broken chair,
so thought of I, "He's unaware
that brand new bench beside him there."
So did I say, and quite befitting,
"Dear sir, I did so see you sitting
and could not help, but of for thinking
the state your chair be not so fitting.
"Its paint too worn and old and grey,
its wood, that too, shows of decay.
Been round a hundred years I'd say,
or more, if too, you count today."
And so then said the old man too,
"But I myself am not so new,
and of such years I've seen a few
so pass away, the way they do.
"Ah...
but I remember a time when,
still good as new, my eyes had been;
my years were nought but shy of ten,
(though many more have passed since then)
"when first I saw her walk my way
and fell in love; the angels, they
would tell of how they heard me say
'I'll call that girl my own someday.'
"Behold, I'll tell you this, it's true
from cross the park, the trees right through,
she saw this bench all painted new
then next my eyes, she found them too.
"We left the park that day 'a sight'
for as the day did lose its light,
I reached my hand to hold hers tight,
this girl, I'd one day call my wife."
"Look...
'tis yonder there beneath that tree"
(He pointed blindly, but I could see)
"that's where I'd later drop a knee
to ask that girl to marry me"
"Yes...
years of joy have passed since then.
The love we bought with kisses spent,
a bond, born not this world of men,
for bares no fear, nor sight of end.
"But...
I'll tell you this, young man, you see
with happiness there comes a fee.
We did it all my wife and me;
our lives were good, and certainly
"no other man loved more than I,
that girl I once saw striding by,
though wondering now, you must think why
she's not here sitting by my side.
"See...
as from this world my eyes did wane,
so too in her, there grew a pain.
'It's black as night and sure as rain,'
the doctors said, '...too quick to tame.'
(he paused)
"And now she's gone, and here I am,
a lonely blind and dying man,
upon a chair whose course is ran
to end mine too, where it began.
"Thus here I sit, yes blind it's true,
upon this chair, yes not so new,
because just sometimes when I do,
(he paused again)
I can see her striding, back into view."
And with that last, the blind man smiled.
I looked on him, and, quite beguiled,
I saw him see... as if a child,
smiling, smiling, all the while.
