Shawn L. Bird

Original poetry, commentary, and fiction. All copyrights reserved.

poem-contemplating September 25, 2017

Filed under: Poetry — Shawn L. Bird @ 10:59 am
Tags: , , , , , ,

I’m wondering

about the tension between your eyes.

Those two deep, etched furrows

creased vertically above your nose

that appear when you smile

that tight lipped smile

below eyes that do not laugh.

You say,

you can’t help the furrows;

they happen every time,

and yet

look:

in the moments when your mouth is agape,

grinning widely,

when laughter is visible,

erupting from your face

see

the furrows are absent.

I wonder,

why you hold yourself back from laughter,

why your eyes show only tension,

that you plough into your forehead,

when you could be planting joy.

I wonder

what hurts.

I wonder

whether I can guide you back

to joy.

 

10 Responses to “poem-contemplating”

  1. With both students and friends, it is always a beckoning challenge, to help bring back joy.

  2. This is great. I found this really moving.


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