The whisper turns into cannon shot in a crowd.
An enigmatic voice from the dark whispers in a naïve ear.
It speaks of riches and glory and power.
Riches to buy wealth.
Glory to buy rewards.
Power to buy friends.
But the whisper is a lie.
The whisper grows.
It passes from ear to ear turning it from the truth.
Eyes light up with hope for an easy life.
The whisper asks only to be listened to.
To be the leader for a life without strife.
Families sprout with the lie for a companion.
It lives with them, directing its biding.
Fathers and mothers teach the young.
The lie now has a foothold on the future.
Children listen to the whispers teachings, learning from them.
They teach their friends, who tell theirs, corrupting the innocent.
Race comes forth, perpetuating an idea.
Greed swells, filling the pockets with gold.
Hatred screams as it comes into its own.
The whisper turns into cannon shot in a crowd.
It races from ear to ear, instantly changing those who are good.
The crowd moves like one living mass.
Changing and morphing into evil.
Good speaks softly, but with unrelenting force.
It stands its ground against the evil, dreaming of harmony and the legacy of freedom.
Fathers and mothers teach the young.
Good speaks of peace, serenity, and the bravery of life.
Love and knowledge spring from that life.
Knowledge fathers dreams, dreams that build the future.
It pushes, driving the evil away from the naïve then cowers in the corner, where it waits once again.
The naïve are transformed and sent on the path of love once more.
It speaks of riches and glory and power.
Riches to buy wealth.
Glory to buy rewards.
Power to buy friends.
But the whisper is a lie.
The whisper grows.
It passes from ear to ear turning it from the truth.
Eyes light up with hope for an easy life.
The whisper asks only to be listened to.
To be the leader for a life without strife.
Families sprout with the lie for a companion.
It lives with them, directing its biding.
Fathers and mothers teach the young.
The lie now has a foothold on the future.
Children listen to the whispers teachings, learning from them.
They teach their friends, who tell theirs, corrupting the innocent.
Race comes forth, perpetuating an idea.
Greed swells, filling the pockets with gold.
Hatred screams as it comes into its own.
The whisper turns into cannon shot in a crowd.
It races from ear to ear, instantly changing those who are good.
The crowd moves like one living mass.
Changing and morphing into evil.
Good speaks softly, but with unrelenting force.
It stands its ground against the evil, dreaming of harmony and the legacy of freedom.
Fathers and mothers teach the young.
Good speaks of peace, serenity, and the bravery of life.
Love and knowledge spring from that life.
Knowledge fathers dreams, dreams that build the future.
It pushes, driving the evil away from the naïve then cowers in the corner, where it waits once again.
The naïve are transformed and sent on the path of love once more.
I sincerely doubt that any of you already know if this poem, since it wasn't written by a famous poet, but I think it perfectly describes Snape's struggle with good and evil.
As a teenager, Snape was pushed (dragged into, more like) into the evil side, mostly because of Lily ending their friendship. All his life, Snape only wanted to belong, and the Death Eaters gave him a chance to do that, however stupid the decision was. I don't think he was ever truly evil, but that's what he was practically forced to choose.
Then, after realizing what he'd done, he wasn't pushed back to good, but actually chose it out of his own free will. He wanted to contribute to a future where there was no Voldemort; where the man that killed Lily was dead.
