African sister with eyes the color of night
Eyes with pools of sorrow
and no reflection of light.
The lines on your face
Tell a story that time will never erase.
It's your eyes that draw me in
Deep within
Betraying things you have yet to say
They reveal every trial you've had to face
All the things that have left a bitter taste
I look deeper still and I see courage,
Tempered rage and wisdom beyond age,
Strength that has sustained
Despite unbearable strain.
Even though sometimes things don't make sense,
you continue to draw from a well spring of strength
Enduring amid tribulation running wild,
Silently, bearing the weight since you were a child
I wonder how the heart repairs
From a hurt that is always there.
Any back would have broken from the strain.
I don't know you name
But I can see the pain
That shows in your eyes
I can even hear your cries.
I know the weight you carry is becoming
hard to bear
I can look in your eyes and see the truth there.
I will never forget your eyes,
eyes the color of night,
eyes with pools of sorrow
and no reflection of light.
Copyright Patricia Newman-Harris