"Men as trees, walking"

 By John Woodsworth
 (Mark 8:22-25)

At first light of the morn the sun's weak rays 
Can scarcely make the world around to glow. 
Both men and trees are shadowy ghostly shapes... 
The form that's standing there -- is it friend or foe?

For nothing here about is really plain: 
That could be a tree, or else a living being...
It's even harder for me to explain… 
I'm still a child, and not yet used to seeing. 

It may seem to the mind, just for a moment, 
That this is our world's one and only face... 
That our eyes are seeing its only real component,
And nothing exists beyond these ghostly shapes. 

But thinking minds perceive another door since
They do not trust the verdict of their eyes... 
They know a clearer picture, all the more since 
Already they see light across the skies! 

We find our gaze no longer vacillating 
'Twixt sunlight and deceitful shades of dark... 
We'll then discern without such hesitating 
The true, clear view of all, which light imparts!

*  *  *

At first light of the morn weak mortal mind 
Can scarcely make to glow the world within. 
Myself and others seem not to be God's kind,
But only mortal shapes of flesh and sin. 

The world within? It's difficult to tell 
Just who I am beyond my body's being, 
To fathom and explain my spiritual self... 
I'm still a child, and not quite used to seeing.

That life beyond the body's real and factual 
To us by one great man was once revealed, 
He clearly showed the life that's real and actual, 
When through his touch the blind and deaf were healed.

I've now begun to see another door since 
The Spirit now outweighs all other might. 
I see the clearer picture, all the more since
Already heaven's sending me its light. 

Let's no more live in darkness, vainly gawking, 
But see the clear, true image of our soul -- 
No more see shapes of "men as trees, a-walking",
But God's full image -- holy, perfect, whole.

Ottawa (Canada), 19 November 2002
Translated from the Russian by John Woodsworth