Tailwind: Poems by a Teenage Naturalist

Truth and Ideals

I pledged to spend my life searching for truth
So why is my heart still full of ideals?
I long to see the world for what it is
But my mind reels
In agony
Of having to face the world we live in.

I hide behind the numbers
Screens of data
I have other veils too.
Sometimes it's as if I am living in my own world
And the only time I see what is true
Is when someone lifts the gauzy veil
And I can see clearly.

I love my world of ideals.
The world which lives in my heart.
It is what drives me forward;
Fuels my ambition;
Inspires me to take part
In which I believe the world can become a better place.

But in order to do that I must see clearly.
And though my life up until now I have loved dearly
I know that I will never reach my someday
If I can't see what is happening today
Right in front of my eyes.

I need to lift this veil
And not depend on others holding it up for me

And then maybe I will see
The truths of this world.
But perhaps this thought is just an ideal.
A reality never to come through
I cannot separate from my mind my ideals and what is true.

What if my quest for truth is an ideal From which I can never be free?
I will venture beyond the numbers
And instead of stopping when the analysis appeals
I will continue to look
To unwind those truths from ideals.