Bright Night Light

The lights are bright
off in the distance
out there near the ocean
on the buildings
and the ships
sitting on the water
locked into the dock 

The bright lights
a beautiful distraction
to take one's mind off
the reality that waits
in the darkness
To be seen again in the
morning light 

Night lights hide the reality
with just enough brightness
for one to see a path
but not enough light to
always know if its the right
way to go... 

Life is full of bright night lights
the ones that distract
the ones that hide the truth
in a shimmer of glossy goodness
that only show the surface
the tip of the thing
that captures our eye
with its superficial beauty 

Then in the bright light of the
morning light and the sun at noon
we see deeper into the flaws
beneath the surface and
we see what we have done
having been seduced by the 
superficial beauty seen
by the distraction of the bright
night lights 

And still we sit on the balcony
on the porch -- at the window
in awe of the pretty night lights