Eyes of Molten Steel

how do I paint the world
that breathes inside me?
staid colours
cramped brushes
walled palettes
belonging
to another world,
all speak half truths,
when there are so many colours,
containers and strokes,
that have never been seen
by eyes trapped in pupils
straining to see
only the visible,
even in a changing
invisible world
lit up by eyes
of molten steel.

The Embrace

and I didn't quite know,
until you raised your arms
as your being smiled,
and circled the walls
of a crumbling bastion
I had held on to
for perhaps too long,
that the waters from
the womb of our eyes,
breaking into a swell,
as they met for a moment
in a timeless embrace
of water and earth,
fire and breath,
gave birth to
and held close,
the kiss of a new
unlived life.

Fallen Grace

look into my eyes
so you can look
into my soul,
for when I've fallen
from my own
ruthless scrutiny,
my pupils cringe,
my eyelids go limp,
my lashes stroke
the falling tears,
and in that collapse
into a self-made prison,
your eyes
hold me
lift me
and carry me
into the heart
of fallen grace.

Tears

Have you ever been
caught in a moment,
when your eyes
welling up
with flood waters,
poured themselves
into the toothless smile
of a child,
who knows only
how to laugh
into Life's face?
Tears hold more than
what the eyes can see
or the heart can feel.

Inside, Outside

sometimes,
you walk away,
to step aside
and see things
with new eyes;
sometimes,
you stay on,
to step inside
the eyes
you wanted to
walk away from;
sometimes,
it's your own eyes
that show you
the gifts of both -
walking away
and staying on.

The Blind Painter

and I watched him closely
as he painted
not what he saw
with his shrouded eyes,
but what he felt
with his empty heart,
as the canvas came alive
with unnamed colours
to fill my senses,
and his broken art.

Conversations with Yourself

how often do you really
speak to yourself
there is no one out there
and yet
soak it all in
turn your eyes without
so you can
turn your eyes within
what you want to change outside
is
what you don't want to change within.

P.S. - Now read the poem backwards...line by line

Your Eyes

your eyes
they’ve taken me
to all those places
I’ve longed to go
but never dared to go alone,

your eyes
they’ve looked
into my heart
and found and filled
the unseen cracks with gold,

your eyes
they’ve held me safe
and cradled my deepest songs
so I could look at myself
and know where I belong.

your eyes
they’ve been portals
to worlds within worlds,
and while I lost myself somewhere out there,
I found myself in the words and worlds.

Eyes

and so I gave you
a billion eyes
so I could see
myself,
through you.

Through the Eyes of a Fly

sometimes I wish
I could swap my eyes
with those of a fly,
so I don't have to move
or control my eyes
to see what I want to see;
how beautiful it must be
to have a thousand eyes
that see the world as one
through their
unfocussed stillness!

The Well

and when you come to me
with your thirsting eyes
and dip into the stillness
and unknown depths
that give me form,
my parched lips
feel their own wetness
when you leave
with your newly filled eyes.

Looking for a Pair of Eyes

I am looking
for a pair of eyes
that will look straight
into my throbbing
bleeding heart,

I yearn for those eyes
to see and feel
the simmering ache within
for the warm earth
and frozen humanity.

and yes, I cry,
I cry a lot,
when the waves inside
rise and fall, often
without any warning;

the world calls it drama,
an illusion, plain sensitivity,
but hey, I want to tell you
I want to ask you
what the world would do

without a heart that's full
of colours, of every shade,
a vibrant canvas now made
into an insipid monochrome
of black, white and grey?

sometimes I wonder
if my heart's going to burst
and splash its brilliant colours,
and sometimes I also wonder
how much it can hold,

and then just as I feel
my cup is going to shatter,
the taut lump of clay softens
and is reshaped anew
to hold just a little more,

and in that moment
I know I have to be
the eyes I've been looking for,
pouring themselves
into the world, and
into every broken heart.








 

Eyes

eyes
that catch
your furtive glance
desperate to hide;
eyes
that close in,
to pierce
the evasive bullseye;
eyes
that singe
the masks you hold
before your eyes;
eyes
that disrobe
the garbs you wear
to stay safe;
Ah, those eyes!