Eternal Night (On Losing My Sight)

The earth is an Eden of color and light; burnished gold sunsets inspire and delight.
The sky is an ageless blue, so bright, you could weep with the beauty it lends to the night.
And still you can thrill to the subtlest hue and consider with awe each day anew.
The glow of a flame, a leaf you discover, the warm lights you see in the eyes of your lover,
The blush of an apple, the glimmer of stars in the vast unknown are all priceless gifts,
Every shadow and tone, every layer of pearl, every grain in a stone.
Be my eyes for a moment; I want you to see the dazzling landscape calling to me.

And to capture it all can be such a yearning; a privileged few are blessed with that burning.
To paint what is true takes a lifetime of learning. I have far still to go; there's so much I don't know.
To channel the colors that whirl in your brain to flow through your fingers is rapture and pain,
Giving life to a vision is a joy to attain.
How bitter to be so enchanted with light, to be filled with wonder at every new sight
And waken one morning to eternal night.

The Genie