Saturday, October 18, 2008

Do I (eye) care?


The eyes tell a thousand tales they say
And so I looked and looked again
But no matter how much I looked
I could not gauge the eyes almost bereft of expression

She had run away from her house they said
Far, far away had she run in fear for her life
She hadn’t taken anything coz I saw nothing
Maybe she had nothing to take, no clothes, no happiness

Have you seen anything like it, the eyes which say nothing?
I knew I could not get anything from her eyes
But I kept staring at them hard
Because I could not get them away, from her expressionless way

Just when I thought I could not stare forever
She looked right into me, with those eyes that said nothing
I felt choked and ashamed, that I looked away
Far away from the gaze which had me looking one way

All of a sudden I felt I was the one responsible
For the eyes which said nothing and died away
Coz I hadn’t said anything to the men who acted on their women
And caused their eyes to fade away……far, far, away

5 comments:

Anil Sawan said...

simple yet powerful..

ive seen eyes which says nothing, eyes which are greedy for care and eyes which questions your very existence.. all of them during our short trips to the party villages in kasaragod. We did this short trips once in a while to educate the kids over there and to make them realize of the world outside.. but many a times, they taught us better lessons of love, companionship, team work, resistance and happiness!

eyes truely tell a thousand tales.. i wish every eye does!

Fr. Jerry Kurian said...

It seems that you have been in the field and therefore have your unique set of experiences. I think that is how life can indeed be learnt, from the villages of India. The eyes are simply enthralling. You feel warmth, love, emptiness, sadness....every emotion you can think of.

On a more lighter note, you have chosen to not give away much as you have covered your eyes with the sun glasses. :)

Anil Sawan said...

anonymity has its advantages. why should someone know me more through my eyes :-)

vinny said...

Fr, dont let this happen again..next time plssssss blast the man who is the woman's sinner.. for Christ's sake..u as Father has complete authority to do so..
as all ur poems, this too is simple n touches the heart..

soft poem this !

Fr. Jerry Kurian said...

Sawan: I leave you with the freedom of anonymity. :)

Vin: As each day goes by I feel that I have not acted enough, not said enough, not thought enough. I keep trying in my own imperfect way.

I usually try to keep my writings simple, as my audience is very diverse. But I always leave the door open, for the readers to think and develop more. Sometimes it may be in a different direction all together, but I let it be as long as the core thought is grasped.