Rosy Rose

Published on November 16, 2023by Le Mai Tan Dat

I meet a handsome boy, not without charisma.
He tells me that he is hurt when people are treated unfairly.
I am sure he will love the elitist ball,
Where masquerade is appropriated.
People tell me the eyes are the window to the soul, let's just assume they are right.
I ponder.
Does his masquerade cover his eyes?
He speaks of equality,
But does it contain humanity?
Or is it masked by a silk of privileges, with its bloody history?
Full of pride, he invited people to his masquerade party,
Where equality is the dress-code.
What do mortals see of the equality chased after by a deity?
I meet a good-looking boy, but rather shy
He tells me he wants to feel how people are treated unfairly.
I bet he has been in such.
He is often accused of being idealistic.
People tell me the eyes are the window to the soul.
But what if a person is blind?
Does it mean they don't have a soul?
Does it mean they cannot "see" others' souls?
Eyeless but heartfelt, he dreams of a utopian world.
And wakes up to confuse whether he was a butterfly in his dream.
Just because something is impossible does it mean it is not worth pursuing?
Yet anomaly does exist.
Are we being Galileo or the church?
Pity and empathy,
Just as rose is not without its thorn -
Entwined, yet not a twin.
Removing the thorns may make the rose less of a rose,
But don't we prefer the petals?
November 2023, Singapore.

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