TIGER EYES (2023)

Tiger eyes
behind them lies
not just vision
but shadows and
visions
indecision
born of loss
pain undeserved
cries kept in reserve
sharp as razor-severed
nerves
her deliverence
nigh
she questions why
it took so long
for this love song
to be sung
from agony wrung
with the pitch and range
to reach
her depths
a hearing kept
hidden so deep
how many times she’d weep
awake asleep
those eyes
whether open or closed
searched in a timeless
void
for a timely voice
to rouse her
soul
truth be told
it wasn’t a striped breed
that
she roused
but a big black cat

By Kevin ”Rashid” Johnson