Dramatis Personae (Part Deux)

Have you ever hated your life? He hated his life. In the garden, the sun beating down on his bare shoulders, he realized that he truly despised himself for where he was. The sweat on his skin reflected the brightness of the day and he sneered at that, too. Nothing seemed bright. He plunged the shovel into the ground again and again, hoping to perhaps transfer some of his rage into energy and let it seep into the ground. His efforts were to no avail.

He stood, cringing at the muscles in his back that had locked in the bent-over position. Leaning on the long handle of his tool, he surveyed the large plot of land. Despite weeks of daily labor, he saw no beauty in the landscape he had laid out.

No beauty. Among the magnolia blossoms and cherry trees, among roses and daisies, among tiny forget-me-nots and exuberant koi, he saw no beauty. It was all dark, all dissipating before his eyes.

Though he tried to tell himself that he had chosen this path, it only served to increase his lividity. He clutched the shovel tightly, nearly losing his balance when the tears crept up to his eyes stealthily. He made an annoyed sound and wiped them away with the back of his hand. But they were insistent and finally his sat on his mound of freshly-piled soil and let them flow.

Like a bird built for flight in a wire cage, he yearned to be set free. Though he made life beautiful for others, there was no joy in it for him.

Sorrow.

He knew the true meaning of it at last. So sorrowful, in fact, that he couldn't even allow himself to mourn.
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Without the hideous, there is no beauty.
Without the dark, there is no light.
Without Sorrow, there is no Joy.
"Although the sorrow may last for the night, HIS Joy comes with the morning!"
Without Suffering, there is no Peace.
----
After all this has past,
I still will remain
After I've cried my last,
There'll be Beauty from Pain.
Though it won't be today,
Someday I'll hope again
And You will bring Beauty from my Pain.
-Superchic[k]