Sorrowful Oasis
by Michael Doyle

In the end, a label is a name,
And a name is often a useful label.
In an age-old sort of game,
We play it often when we're capable.

The attributes of each scream
Tells us that necessary something
That lies beyond desert skies and dreams
The something clung to is often nothing.

All that we think we know as real
Is often an illusion hiding the truth to reveal.
We raid in the night to plunder and steal,
Hiding the truth of eyes behind the seventh veil.

Sometimes life hides us away,
There in the self-imprisoned darkness.
We'd like daylight to come and stay,
But other times call for harshness.

The past we didn't want to know
We remember better than we thought we did.
It strains at us like an 8mm picture show.
Despite names and labels, we can't keep truth hid.

All that we think we know as real
Is often an illusion hiding the truth to reveal.
We raid in the night to plunder and steal,
Hiding the truth of eyes behind the seventh veil.

Tears flash into a swift flowing flood,
An oasis can hold onto too much sorrow.
Afghani sandals get stuck in time's mud
Fleeing from every yesterday's tomorrow.

An old man sits in his shadowed contemplation
Holding on to what he thought he knew yesterday.
Is this life real or only tatters of imagination?
The why of why things happen, only fools can say.

All that we think we know as real
Is often an illusion hiding the truth to reveal.
We raid in the night to plunder and steal,
Hiding the truth of eyes behind the seventh veil.

Afghanistan - she is often called -
As the heartbeat of an unconquerable nation.
And while a fortress might eventually fall,
No one, but itself, can really conquer a true nation.

We want to believe, and we do at the start,
In all the fairytales that share the good.
We cling to this n our heart of hearts - 
To something we only hoped would be understood.

All that we think we know as real
Is often an illusion hiding the truth to reveal.
We raid in the night to plunder and steal,
Hiding the truth of eyes behind the seventh veil.

(c)March 23, 2026   Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved