Advice for the faint of heart—read what you will, but look into my eyes to read the truth. Here’s what they will say to you: spare nothing, taste everything, touch and feel what’s real. Live as if there’s no tomorrow, speak your mind, and find the hope that springs eternal.

But cast no doubt or sorrow upon these eyes of mine, for they are impenetrable—unyielding in their gaze. They have never bowed, nor will they start now. They look outward, they stare, just as yours do. These days, they rarely sleep. They fill with the same desires as yours, harvesting meaning from all they witness, sowing fresh realities in the life they have chosen to live.

Each glance is a shield, guarding the fortress within—unflinching in its study of the world. They carve deeper into the gaze of onlookers, standing close yet feeling distant, lost in life’s exaggerated maze. Impenetrable eyes open anew, heavy with strife. With each passing day askew, they search—craving but a taste of a single thought. And there they sit, side by side, pleading for harmony, for redemption.

Born under the swiftest evergreens, these irises were spared at birth by the wisdom of those who see. These eyes, though born blind, will see more than you ever will in a single misguided life—one spent trying, and failing, to grasp its own meaning. ❤️

©️ Beatriz Esmer