Poem: Shaded Eyes (Behind the Eyelids)

Sometimes, a great poem inspires another good one. What happens behind the eyes of those who love? Here are two poems that could answer that question.

Poem: Shaded Eyes

Shaded eyes
glazed with so much sadness
and hidden cries
so much you try to disguise
but I see right through you
How I wish I could
float in your heart
and steal the pain
that is tearing you apart
and drink all the tears
hiding deep within
your shaded eyes
and replace all the sadness
with the colors of a sunrise
I am here beside you,
touching you,
but you are so closed off
you do not even realize
I am crying right along side you
Shaded eyes
and broken hearts
I’m here for all the glossy
and messy parts
Just open your eyes
and slowly let me in …

~ ©️ Priya Patel, Dec 9, 23 🕉

Priya Patel — I am not on WhatsApp, but I could not resist a poem—a detour from my Dubai Dairies. Your fabulous poem, of course, is the inspiration.

Poem: BEHIND MY EYELIDS

I never realized that
My eyelids were doors
Till I closed them
And saw you in me
As you walked
On the red carpet
As my heart thundered
In irregular beats
Drumrolls for your arrival
The four chambers of life
In rhythmic dance
The day I become
Filled with you
And the day you finally
Came home
To our new world…

…A world tied
By our senses
Turned topsy-turvy
Your salty skin
Takes sweet
Your sweat’s aroma
Smooth as lavender
Your unkempt hair
Like violin strings
Your morning voice
A nightingale’s song
Being with you
A life of dreams
Filled with sleepless nights.

We live together
In our thoughts
In our memories
In our heartbeat
Through the pain
And the ecstasy
In a world together
We fill each other
All behind that door
That I call my eyelids.

~Ashok Subramanian © 2023

“Then love knew it was called love.
And when I lifted my eyes to your name,
suddenly your heart showed me my way”
― Pablo Neruda