Them Eyes

A Poem by Marcovy Duwin

A reminder of what we have lost in the recent and ongoing calamities.

Them eyes,

Of a newborn,
Open for the very first time,
Usually comes with a yawn.
The light that passes through,
To see and feel what they see,
It will blow your mind.

Them eyes,
Of a child,
Joyful and innocent,
Curious and wild.
First to love,
Last to judge,
Never condescend.

Our eyes, however
Seem to be different.
We see what we want,
We want what we need,
And our need never stops,
Until we stop to see.

Our eyes,
Start to crave,
People say only belly knows hunger,
Wait until you see the eyes, our eyes,
Craving for power.

What power is this?
One that brings you to the top,
Stepping down friends and foes,
One that you can spend,
Nothing like money can’t buy or mend,
One that corrupts values,
Poisoning moral and virtues.
One that is so high,
Where people have to bow,
Bowing low is never low enough.
And one that justifies war,
Where not killing is never an option,
So easy to pull the trigger,
Somehow pulling is even faster than blinking.

It is with our very own eyes,
That we show desire,
We never stop until we’re full.
Our desire grows stronger,
Stronger than a magnet can pull,
We desire for more than we have,
We take what’s not ours,
We give less when it should’ve been more,
All for the power that we dream of.

However,
It is with our very own eyes,
That we promise to be just
Yet we support injustice,
By committing one or
Seeing and ignoring one,
I wonder,
Which one is worse?
That we show moderation,
Yet we hasten,
As if there's a race to be won.
That we portray humility,
Instead we are so proud,
We even say it out loud.
That we believe in humanity,
Valuing life instead of taking one,
Yet we choose war,
Choosing confrontation over discussion,
Prefer killing to talking,
Killing them eyes.

Yes, them eyes,
It is our very damn eyes that close them.
Our eyes that block the light,
Making them lose their sight.
Our eyes that show them,
What’s left of this world?
The world we left behind,
Of hate and peril.
Our eyes that sweep away their joy,
By giving them suffering,
Instead of a toy.

So let us try,
Never make them eyes cry,
Nor shed a tear of sorrow,
For what they see today is a gift,
A gift of better tomorrow.