Among The Avenue Of Faces

The sting of stares stabs my soul,

eyes that cast their secrets and stories

wound and set ablaze my heart,

that tearful look on my grandson’s face

when his small world is shattered

and he looks to me for its healing.

 

It is that rage that boils like pot

at times the boss gains ogre eyes,

becomes an insane beast

only able to devour

with some mindless savagery.

 

There are the portraits

of those who I see

with anxious expressions

so ready to explode

over some injustice,

as they radiant their subtle hate,

which ripples in the inside in fear.

 

Then I confront the aged images

who convey that sorrow

over their lost choices and dream

while they walk in somber silence

sometimes giving you a that glance

to remind how someday

I shall follow their same footprints.

 

But finally I am greeted

by the one who I love,

her beauty bathes me in her warmth

until joy outshines the passage

among the avenue of faces,

happily savoring

an embrace that inspires

only the glow of smiles.