Inside the Vulgar Hall
There is no place for us to stand.
The floor is all filled up.
There is no food to munch upon,
nor ale to fill my cup.
The air is stale and musty now.
It seems so foul and warm.
My toes now ache from other’s heels.
I feel so insignificant within this buzzing swarm.
Just one amidst the millions,
I speak as loud as they.
In this crowd, all are heard,
but no one knows what they say.
Voices - a buzzing obscurity,
and elbows are in my back.
The smoke is thick and burns my eyes.
Fresh air is what I lack.
I’m searching for an exit now.
I feel so sick inside.
I must make hast… to find a place
to relax - to breathe - to hide…
away from all the others
who make up this great race -
who practice vandalism, rape, and murder,
and who think nothing of lying to your face.
There is no compassion within this hall
where we gather tonight,
for in the dance of life, my friend,
there’s but one way to shine so bright.
By dulling all the others
that shine around one light,
it makes the one stand out, you see.
It makes it seem more bright.
But… brightness, like everything else in life,
is relative to what we see.
A bonfire to a volcano seems dull,
but to a firefly seems bright as can be.
And when two lights of equal strength
and which have never been outshone before
come face to face with the help of fate
out there on that filthy floor,
one which shines above all.
It cares not how nor why nor who it dulls -
only that it is the brightest light within that vulgar hall.
To many the bright light is a hero,
for it’s outshone the rest.
But what of the ones it’s put out -
the light that it’s suppressed?
The firefly and the bonfire
despise the great volcano.
To all those little lights
it’s a murderer, not a hero.
I refuse to step upon,
diminish, destroy, or hide
even the most obscene of lights.
That’s why I step outside.
For if I must shine brighter
than anything else around,
I close the door behind me
and go where no light is found.
All these things are known by me,
and I grow nauseous at this ball.
I step outside - I’m all alone -
and shining brighter than any light inside the vulgar hall.
July 28, 1991