Looking Through Other’s Eyes

Could a greater miracle take place than for us to
look through each other’s eyes for an instant.
—Henry David Thoreau

Others’ Eyes

I like to think I have my biases reigned in, tucked neatly in my pocket, and hidden from my thinking and action. No matter how hard I try, I’ve learned that none of us can completely control the influence of the world in which we grew up, the voices that shaped us, or the actions played out before our eyes. We have all become imprinted in some way. The best I know to do is to let go of what I think I know, close my eyes, and open them with others’ eyes.

I see you standing,
peering from behind the lens.
What are you thinking?
Do you admire my soft fur,
Or wish your nose could wiggle?

. . .

The inspiration for this Tanka Prose came from a quotation from Henry David Thoreau and a photograph. This garden rabbit and I played hide and seek for several days. When I went for the camera, he stood silent, waiting, looking, as we tried to stare each other down. I wondered how the garden and my presence looked through his eyes. What would I see?

This short film illustrates how life can change when our perspective changes.

“In its simplest form, Tanka Prose is prose accompanied by a tanka poem” (Colleen M. Chesebro, Word Craft Prose & Poetry, 2021, p. 105).

And always—