A chisel cracks down on my
Eye and a slit of Light opens—²
“What would ye that I shall do unto you?”
“That our Eyes may be Opened!”³
Vibratile monad eyelid Propels
Itself upward, releases a Glance.⁴
Eyes ‘fore duteous, now Converted are
From their low tract, and Look another way—⁵
My eyes are a vague blue, like the sky, and change all the
Time: they are Indiscriminate & Fleeting—entirely Specific and
Disloyal … if only I had grey, green, black, brown, yellow eyes …⁶
The Eye—that horrible growing sense of a hostile will that strives
With great power to Pierce all shadows of earth and flesh and to
See you: to Pin you under its deadly gaze, Naked, Immovable.⁷
Beautiful Eyes are those that show—
Crystal panes where Hearthfires glow—
Beautiful Thoughts that burn below!⁸
Could a greater Miracle take place than for us to
Look through each other’s eyes for an instant?⁹
I would liken you to a Night without
Stars—were it not for your Eyes.¹⁰
¹ Danez Smith, Dinosaurs in the Hood
² Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar
³ Matthew 20:32-3 (King James)
⁴ Paul Celan tr. Michael Hamburger, Language Mesh
⁵ William Shakespeare, Sonnet VII
⁶ Frank O’Hara, Meditations in an Emergency
⁷ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers
⁸ Ellen P. Allerton, Beautiful Things
⁹ Henry David Thoreau, Walden
¹⁰ Langston Hughes, Ardella