Orientation

 
 
 
 
 
POETRY SUPPLEMENT 
 
Allegory Of The Cave  
 
        by Stephen Dunn 
 
He climbed toward the blinding light 
and when his eyes adjusted 
he looked down and could see 
 
his fellow prisoners captivated 
by shadows; everything he had believed 
was false. And he was suddenly 
 
in the 20th century, in the sunlight 
and violence of history, encumbered 
by knowledge. Only a hero 
 
would dare return with the truth. 
So from the cave's upper reaches, 
removed from harm, he called out 
 
the disturbing news. 
What lovely echoes, the prisoners said, 
what a fine musical place to live. 
 
He spelled it out, then, in clear prose 
on paper scraps, which he floated down. 

---

80 
 
 
But in the semi-dark they read his words 
 
with the indulgence of those who seldom read: 
It's about my father's death, one of them said. 
No, said the others, it's a joke. 
By this time he no longer was sure 
of what he'd seen. Wasn't sunlight a shadow too? 
Wasn't there always a source 
 
behind a source? He just stood there, 
confused, a man who had moved 
to larger errors, without a prayer.