A room
A table
Chairs
Windows
A priest
His lawyer
A soldier
His wife.
As they sit him down,
Still in chains,
They implore,
That he see reason.
The paper,
Is just a paper.
The same paper,
He had so vehemently,
Detested.
"Sign it or my practice will be ruined!" cries the lawyer;
"Nobody cares for such pointless protests!" cries the soldier;
"The Lord only looks within; the paper means nothing" cries the priest.
"Save us the trouble!" they cry.
But,
They do not see,
They do not understand,
The ache that stirred within his heart,
The truth that he allows himself to suffer for.
His heart is his truth;
The paper his lie.
Better to suffer the truth,
Than the lie.
He turns at last,
To his wife.
His wife.
O, how she has suffered;
Exiled, abused, tired.
What have I done?
Her hands;
They squeeze so gently.
He looks at her;
"Do you understand?"
In her own quiet way,
She nods.
"I love you;
In whatever you do."
And that is all he needs.
I have just come from watching Terrence Malick’s ‘A Hidden Life’, and let me just say, this film ripped me to complete shreds and the scene above was what destroyed me in the end.
