The Missing Gaze

What is missing?

His eyes. They've been stolen. A cruel jagged mask severed the reciprocal view from the viewer.

So we gaze at his beauty through a cloak of invisibility. Never do we need to feel ashamed or subjected to the judgment of his return gaze. His youthful lips and ripened cheeks are objects of our adoration. But we cannot connect to him. The association with a real figure is partially lost.

Yet, the fragmentation provokes a new way of looking at him. It is one-side, selfish and fitting for these impersonal times.

We can judge him. But he can no longer judge us.

Fragmentary Colossal Head of a Youth. Greek, Hellenistic Period, 2nd Cent. B.C. Discovered at Pergamon. (Photo taken at the Metropolitan Museum, New York)

Ikaria (and Syrinx)

Can you feel the wind?  It’s different on Ikaria  –  he licked the salt on my neck.

It’s feral and fierce, twirling its own dervish dance –  I grasped for the twisting air.

All the stars come out on Ikaria  –  he pulled my hair from behind.

Yes, I see Artemis drawing her bow  –  I smelled the sweat of a deer.

The moon is also different on Ikaria  –  his fingers opened my mouth.

It’s bright and orange, and rises like the sun  –  I gasped and pulled at his beard.

Because the night is the day for us, on Ikaria  –  he groaned and tugged at my hips.

That cave in the cliff, it is your home  – I scratched at his sylvan legs.

The water in our rivers tastes better too  – he arched me over a rock.

Yes, each spring you drink with their nymphs  – I saw Pan’s eyes in the woods.

Do you hear the sea? It’s brewing the pyre – he poured hot sand in my ear.

Yes, it’s the myth. He’s ready to fall! – I moaned and started to melt.

Finally you are here, here on Ikaria – he carried me to the reeds.

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[“In classical mythology,  Syrinx (Greek Σύριγξ) was a nymph and a follower of Artemis, known for her chastity. Pursued by the amorous Greek god Pan, she ran to a river's edge and asked for assistance from the river nymphs. In answer, she was transformed into hollow water reeds that made a haunting sound when the god's frustrated breath blew across them. Pan cut the reeds to fashion the first set of pan pipes, which were thenceforth known as syrinx. The word syringe was derived from this word.” Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrinx

“Icarus ignored instructions not to fly too close to the sun, and the melting wax caused him to fall into the sea where he drowned.” Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icarus ]

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