Eye for an Eye
some things were always seen — just never said
I watched the apple, lazy eyed.
Burgundy my hair was dyed.
Time gone by. I remember mid-July.
You waved your hand and whispered, “Hi.”
We met eye to eye.
Cool guy, he got my heartbeat high.
He talked as sweet as pie, but gave me the redeye.
I persuade him to leave, but I plead him to stand by.
Dead eyes – he said, “I see you with clear eyes.”
Slant eyes, he gave me the stink eye.
“I’ll love you ‘til I die,” he swore by.
Cross-eyed, I watched him watch her, sly.
I checked him out. I turned a blind eye.
He was a puppy crush – that’s why.
I squinted for a second. He broke the string tie.
He patted his cheeks dry.
He left without batting an eye.
Nice try, tough guy.
Head low. Cat’s eye.
I watched the lake after we bade goodbyes.
Days. Even decades hovered by.
He’ll forget me after pigs fly.
I lived life, doing people, and making things to get by.
Never say die until we bleed dry.
In hindsight, he stayed… like a nasty pink-eye.
And it’s something I carried as the years pass by.
In bird’s eye, he was vicious with his lies.
Blank eye. Some scars can still make me cry.
Whether the cut on my finger or the lies in the past –
they hurt just the same, as if I died.
Closed eyes. Something tangible, something felt.
The memories’ blades remaining razor-sharp.
Others scarred. Most of them are still gaping.
Never dried.
It’s torture. It’s manipulative like some twisted game.
It loved playing with my mind.
Bulls eye.
Sharp eyes. Prize high.
I paid the price.
The wounds… They have a nasty habit of reappearing out of nowhere.
But forgetting, forgiving – all I’ve tried.
When I fix my mouth into a grin,
I make sure the smile lasts for a while.
They have no idea how easy it is to disguise.
The alter ego that I’m used to play –
a sight for sore eyes.
Just like raindrops I wiped off the windshield,
I look at my goal with keen eyes.
I’m one to hide my feelings,
and weep on my papers, dull-eyed.
If we could try, please drop by.
I stood by the lake where he left me high and dry.
“Who’s the bad guy?”
Silence – the place replied.
“Us” lived for three months.
Truth, I denied.
Passersby walk.
He kept me standby.
All wounds take time to heal.
Black eyes. Head high, I jumped high.
I blinked.
Eye for an eye.
I wasn’t fooled. Not really. I saw it — in the way his voice softened for someone else, in the way I had to ask for what should’ve been given. I stayed anyway. Because leaving meant admitting that everything I held onto was already gone. So I let it hurt. I let it stay. I let it become part of me. And in the end — it wasn’t him who broke me. It was the version of myself that chose not to walk away.
Curious where these stories came from?
Read the inspiration behind this poem here:
[…] “Eye for an Eye” is a reflective exploration of memory, love, heartbreak, and resilience. The poem traces the emotional journey of a fleeting relationship—capturing moments of connection, betrayal, longing, and self-discovery. Through the recurring motif of the “eye,” the poem weaves together literal observation, perception, and introspection, creating layers of wordplay and meaning. […]
[…] Eye for an eye… […]