For years eye contact
Felt impossible any time
Deep truths got spoken.
Shame storm raged strong,
As
Though the telling with only the tongue
Meant the tortuous images would not
Enter the mind, that
The brain would be fooled
By eyes looking away,
Looking down, closing lids
Shut tight.
Yet, the body, the whole body
Remembers the horrors,
Whole sensory experiences,
The smells, the roaring in the
Ears of Rage-filled words,
Vivid memories of
Hate-filled eyes.
Such
Courage to look
Into your eyes and
Speak difficult
Stories-
Such bravery to
Pierce through
Protective ways
To look into my eyes
Staring into yours.
Hidden, not
Hidden pain,
Recent, past,
Long ago,
Past lives,
Ancestral heritage
Of
Holocausts that
Haunt and Hunt for
Psyches to Lynch
For the Balm of
Love to Heal.
