I did not know where I was going
I walked along the bridge for so long
I had to pause
So I paused, and leaned against the rim
I looked down at the rushing water
I looked up at the evening sky
It was then, that I met a blind old man
Holding a cane and wearing sunglasses

He leaned against the rim next to me
The man introduced himself
“I hope the view is nice,” he said
The man did nothing but stare forward
He seemed to be in his own world
I looked at him and then I looked away
Away I looked, at the abyss
The view’s abyss

“I want to ask you, boy,” said the man
“What is it like to see?
I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen”
The man had been blind his whole life
The world was nothing to him
The world was black
I couldn’t find the words to explain to him
What it’s like to sense something he’s never sensed
Like describing sounds to someone who can’t hear
Like describing touch to someone who can’t feel

“Seeing is to view the world visually, I guess,” I told him
“To see the texture, the color, the thickness or thinness, the shape
Of something too far to hear or to touch
It’s a beautiful thing, you see”
He stayed quiet for a time
I knew it was a bad description
But words can only be too complex
Descriptions can only be too descriptive
“I can’t do it,” I said
“I can’t describe it”

“Then try to imagine it,” the man told me
“What it would be like to be in my shoes
To see nothing
To explain the unexplainable”

But I just saw gray
Periodically covered by flashes of light
Light and dark were the only colors
I saw

I couldn’t know if where I was
Was the Earth or something else
People say I’m human but I don’t know what a human is
Or what it looks like
I felt humans but couldn’t see humans
Humans were just voices
And figures I could hug and hold

I know there are cars around me
Loud machines that make noise
And transport people
But I will never know what they truly are

I know there are buildings around me
Tall structures that house rooms and offices
Used for work or for lodging
But I will never know what they truly are

I know there are pets around me
Animals that live alongside humans
They make “barking” and “meowing” sounds
But I will never know what they truly are

My world is created based on
What people tell me
What they say is true and what isn’t
And as this thought crossed my mind
I realized that imagining how he felt
And how he saw
Gave me a sense
Of how to describe the world

Once again
I looked away

Away I looked, at the abyss
The view’s abyss

The view’s abyss