To see the sun and then turn your eyes is a lasting burn of retina. Yet, it causes in us the desire to look again – to see into the purity of being that exudes from the burning orb. The remembered effects pass rapidly from our memories, yet in the moments of looking we swear that will never again attempt something so stupid.
The gracious moments of afterglow cause us harm in that we burn while waiting for the streaks to pass. The brightness would cause blindness if we continued to look and saw past the center of the glow, both in space and in our sight sockets. Flesh will melt away faster than the light will. But given time, the light will pass into oblivion, as well.
Marty Reep 