Windows to the Soul

April 23

I am thankful for windows to the soul. We are all guarded. Most of the time we keep our true selves away from others. But those times when we open the shutters guarding our hearts and minds and allow others to look inside our being, to our very souls, are very precious moments. It is just as special when others remove their guard from us and allow us to glimpse who they really are.

This photo was taken of the partly open shuttered windows of the Bayou Paul Colored School, which I came upon on Bayou Paul Road near St. Gabriel, Louisiana. This one room schoolhouse was built in the 1920s and served as a school for African-American children in grades 1-8 until it was closed in 1955. Today the school stands as a landmark to times of old. I liked the shuttered windows, of which one is open and one broken to allow us to look into the schoolhouse.

windows to the soul

tightly shut

to protect from danger

we seldom allow others

a glimpse of the stranger

that lurks hidden

within us all

for fear that if they do

they would be appalled

cower from us then

no more to be a friend

but once in a while

we open the window a crack

for them to catch a glimpse

somewhat surprised by their lack

of being taken aback

but instead they

open the window to their soul

and we find ourselves and them

being thus once again made whole.

© rt tulley