Behind my eyes
There is a man,
Who sits under the bridge of my nose
He holds a rope in each hand
One holds back a river of tears
The other, manipulates my vision

Day by day the man peers out
Seeing what I see
My glassy eyes are windows to the world
Each night
The man’s hands become weaker
My eyelids fall
As he drifts to sleep, so do I

This man has a haunted soul you see,
Each night he jolts from his restless sleep,
As he yanks the rope
My eyelids retreat
Hours go by
I lay awake with the man
Until his pain subsides
Allowing me to rest again

The man behind my eyes is weak and overwrought
Although the world cannot see him
Other people strike terror into his frail body
He cowers and hides
While his mind buzzes with maddening thoughts


When we are alone
He lets go of the other rope,
With pain flooding from his heart
He cries
His tears become mine
They cascade down my face


I lied,
There is no man behind my eyes
But who am I to blame for my lonely weeping
And restless mind
Keeping me awake for hours each night

There is no man
But I wish there was
Because then I wouldn’t feel so alone