18. Two Eyes

18.

Two Eyes

Two eyes are still closed tightly

To the beauty of this earth,

A face still glistens brightly

From the miracle of birth.

Two eyes, a flickered movement

As a new life is unfurled

But the wonder of this moment

Is just wasted on this world.

Two eyes begin to open

And in wonder gaze around,

Youth’s bud begins to ripen

As those eyes grow big and round.

Two eyes born out of innocence

See the world with rosy hue,

Still blind to all the violence

And the evil that men do.

Two eyes are filled with anger

As they open to the truth,

The mirror holds a stranger

Something missing from their youth.

Two eyes now disillusioned

And ashamed of their own kind,

In a torment of confusion

Now they wish they were still blind.

Two eyes have now grown cynical

Against this world of pain,

They’ve reached and passed life’s pinnacle

And soon will close again.

Two eyes are quickly dimming

And their light is fading fast,

The world about is swimming

As they look into the past.

Two eyes now close forever

At their owner’s final breath

In that face like wrinkled leather

Lying peacefully in death.