Sunset Explosion

As we drove home tonight my friend gasped and said:  “Look at the beauty in that golden sunset!”

But all I could see was the napalm glare, then came the smell of the chemical, then the heat from crackling flames.

And all I could hear was the deep, painful cry of the wounded and tortured earth.

And in my mind I walked again through the agonies of hell.

And I wept for the beauty of a sunset’s gift.

And I cried for my friends who could not see it.

In my heart I am grateful for what I see.
In my mind I know searing pain and unrelenting grief.

If only my mind and my heart could embrace and look out upon the world together.