In the Eye of the Beholder

by John Herlihy

 What lies in the eye of the beholder—
An image, an attitude, an emotion.
Only beauty in the eye of the beholder,
Ever visionary and filled with devotion.

What of squalor that can lie at rest there?
The eye records all things, not just beauty.
What about grief that often results in prayer?
Eyelids blink through tears touched by misery.

One eye sees moonlight upon a field of snow,
The winter landscape as a blanket held near.
Another feels cold and barren amid moonglow,
The eye of the icicle at the tip of its spear.

The end of a love affair results in heartbreak;
The lover just walks away, never to look back.
In winter, the eye sees a falling snowflake—
Feelings of fullness one may otherwise lack.

The eye of the beholder can be gentle and soft,
Or the beholder’s eye filled with sand and grit.
A single glance can hold the loved one aloft,
Otherwise, a cloudy film upon the eyeball writ.

One eye looks out and sees only perfection,
Tracing linear shadows of beauty and bliss.
Another looks out and sees only rejection—
Things soon to vanish, things only to miss.

A poet’s eye sees visions as circles in the sand,
Still not knowing yet how to shape the words.
Other poets see visions that feel as reprimands,
Echoing sweetly the ancient songs of dawn birds.

One glance from her, he sat there like stone,
His head bowed as he stared at the ground.
One glance from her and he sat upon a throne,
Composing proclamations without uttering a sound.

Life asks things of us when we are not looking—
To be courageous, to be a hero, to be bold.
To look upon the outer world with inner seeing,
To allow the wonder of it all to simply unfold.

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Copyright © John Herlihy
Friday 22 May 2026