The Power Of Their Eyes

I step behind a tree. One car , two cars, three cars pass. I want to escape the power;The power of their eyes.

Shame becomes a smaller thing The first time you reach down On the side of the road To pick up a can or a bottle; Pick it up and put it in your bag Without hesitation, without waiting...For traffic to clear.

But the first time, tenth time, thousandth time; Still you know they see you, watch you. You know this with or without shame. You are not immune to their eyes.Their eyes are a part of your creation As surely as was your mother. So sometimes you walk at night When you can be what you want to be; Or perhaps more importantly, You can avoid being what you don't want to be.You can be nothing...

Nothing but life moving, mind thinking, Soul wondering as you watch the stars; Until, of course, the headlights come And the stars spit you back to earth.

So I step behind a tree Thinking I can escape, But their eyes are there in any case. So I become once again Something I didn't want to be...A man who hides behind a tree.

Steve Gillman has been playing with poetry for thirty years. He and his wife Ana created the game "Deal-A-Poem," which can be accessed for free at: http://www.dealapoem.com