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A blind man’s insight

Jerry Raaf

Today I met a blind man, who could not see,
And yet he knew the sun was there – behind that very tree.
I asked him how he really knew.
He smiled and said, “Here is a clue—
From what I’ve heard, it shines each day.
It’s just that clouds get in the way.”
I took a breath and thought out loud
Of many times when I have been a cloud
To someone on his way
And spoiled the brightness of his day.

With chin in hand, I focused hard
On countless steps around my yard.
Had others known what he had shared
And I, with posture, my soul just bared?
Had I with vision grand . . .
Missed insights where no retina scanned?
Had vision made me blind
To truths unseen and so refined?
I, the blinder, now do see
And thank him oft for seeing me.

The blind man, Wally Brown, lost his eyesight to diabetes. He also lost his home, marriage and occupation, yet he made every attempt to live a positive life. He sang in a large choir in First Alliance Church in Calgary, Alta.

It had been a dismal week, with rain and heavy clouds. Wally was in front of me as we were filing out of church. The usher was shaking hands as people were leaving the morning service. “Well, Wally,” he said, “how are you today? The sun is finally shining.”

“What I remember from when I could see is that the sun always shines. It’s just that clouds get in the way,” Wally replied.

Jerry Raaf is a freelance writer from Abbotsford, B.C. This poem was originally published in the book, The Sands of Time.

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Last modified April 19, 2001.

© 2001 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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