Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, IN A MAN'S EYES, by MARY FRANCINE WATSON


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

IN A MAN'S EYES, by                    
First Line: I saw in a man's eyes heartbreak and despair
Last Line: Never let me see again dead, living eyes.
Subject(s): Despair


I saw in a man's eyes heartbreak and despair,
That suffering, frozen silence,
That cried out beyond all human words;
His body trembled in agony,
As if blown by perverse winds in mighty assail,
And numbed by chills of terror beyond compare.
I saw in a man's eyes
A living death that human hearts despise.
There was no memory of vibrant note
To mingle with the horror undismayed;
A great strong man who suffered
And made no cry when his heart broke;
Facing reactions that left him alone,
Terribly alone and afraid.
God! Never let me see dead eyes in a living face,
As if in the heart of earth there was no resting place;
Never let me see again eyes with unseeing gaze,
Without a glow of light to lighten the dimmed haze;
Only shadows of night creeping
Without a desert mirage at end of the days
To fill a heart with hope. Even though it be false,
It gives strength to stand guard o'er empty
Tombs of life and cools the heat of noonday blaze.
He stood alone! his eyes
Like the face of a corpse, turned to the hills,
All hopes, dreams, prayers,
All faith, dead, still.
Ah! God, please never let me see again
In any man's eyes
The creeping horror of an endless living death;
Eyes without love, joy or song.
Please leave one gleam, one spark of hope,
If they must endure and live on.
Never let me see again dead, living eyes.





Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!


Other Poems of Interest...
Home: PoetryExplorer.net