The Eye

By Peter Venable

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The eye is the lamp of the body.
—Matthew 6:22

Through a red lens
     I see shells, missiles, fiery explosions, smoldering rubble, bloodshot skies, body bags . . .

Through a blue lens
     I see souls downcast, grieving, sorrowing, suffering, strollers left at trailway platforms . . .

Through a yellow lens
     I see specters of worry dusting sulfur powder over every surface, every face . . .

Through a black lens
     I see the world in smoke and darkness, hope shaded away, the eyes of The Skull . . .

Through a pink lens
     I see salmon hues on blossoming lilies outside an abandoned limestone vault . . .

Seeing those colors kaleidoscoping in me.
     I take off all lenses, clearly see
          the Light of life
               within and without me.

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The writer has written sacred and secular verse for many decades. He’s appeared in Ancient Paths, Prairie Messenger, The Lyric, The Anglican Theological Review, The Christian Century, The Merton Seasonal and Windhover. His Jesus Through A Poet’s Lens is available at Amazon. He is at petervenable.com and on Facebook.

Peter's other work on Foreshadow:
A Saturday's Quartet (Poetry, June 2023)
Truth Is Subjectivity (Poetry, April 2024)
Behold (Poetry, May 2024)
Jesus' Face (Poetry, June 2024)
Imago Dei (Poetry, July 2024)