Pupils

Pupils
by Timothy Reed


my eyes creak and groan under
the weight of such sight
they stretch to take it in. 

little red cracks in the glass
point to a stormy sea
then inky blackness, fathom upon fathom.

where sight lacks,
words are rolled thin and milky
as paper, sheet upon sheet.

pupils, be pupils
dilate, don't dilute
what you have seen, what you see.



_______________________


"The assumed knowledge of a thing often disrupts the perception of a thing." 

This thought is heavy on my mind lately. I've been thinking about writing and wanting to achieve a more powerful degree of abstraction in poetry. Rather than trying to re-frame life in symbols, I want to see it as a series of symbols and metaphors and to simply use words to capture that sight. That is the weight of sight, and why my eyes "creak and groan", as they try to expand to see more deeply. Also included is the idea that when we don't see things clearly, words multiply "sheet upon sheet". We are hooked on particulars and haven't yet achieved essence. 

"Words, bear witness - don't fabricate (you are not the weavers)."