My Eyes

You told me that my eyes were the prettiest eyes in the world; that you stared at them for a solid five minutes.

That was a nice thing to say, but it's funny;

I didn't think my eyes went past my shoulders.

See, that's not the first time you pulled that line on me.

But last time I was blind, and now this time I see.

A younger me would have seen you staring and blushed.

She would have eaten that line like the Coldstone ice cream we were eating that night;

swallowed it faster than I knew I should have, but didn't care.

A younger me would have thought, "Thank God! He finally sees me!"

That's the funny thing with eyes, though,

How can you see what another person sees if you are blind?

How do you trust the eyes of another if you barely trust your own?

You must have had a lot of practice with the blind chicks, cause you knew how to play with my eyes.

You knew what to say, or when to smile, or how to joke to get my eyes fixated on your target.

And for a solid, terrifying moment, I was blind,

and my eyes could only see you.

I saw you everywhere I looked.

I saw you in the car while I was singing cheesy romance songs.

I saw you next to me in the pew on Sunday morning.

I saw you when my eyes were closed and I would dream of you.

I even saw you waiting for me down the aisle in a future that I fantasized.

I saw what I thought I wanted to see.

My sister saw that I was blind to all but you.

She tried to fix me

I didn't want to be fixed.

My best friend warned that your feelings didn't include me.

I didn't see that.

I had eyes set, and everyone was against me.

Until, for a short, brief moment,

Just a tiny crack in my blinders,

Barely enough time to breathe,

To blink,

I saw you.

I saw you looking,

looking at someone that wasn't me.

I saw you looking at my best friend,

she was right in front of me.

I saw you looking at a girl who was already spoken for,

And you knew that.

Still, you stared.

My target, the one I only had eyes for,

the one that plagued my every thought my every thought, dream, and vision,

the one you stuck me with,

was beginning to waver.

I felt a tremor, and at once it was ice cold and yet searingly hot.

I felt everything all at once.

I felt the blinders fall from my eyes and shatter on the ground and felt the pain as if it were my heart that exploded.

At last,

I finally had control of my eyes.

I saw everything with new light,

I knew my sister and my best friend were right.

My green eyes that I got from my father were now shining with the knowledge of your true nature.

Damn.

I was so blind.

I was blind to think that you were really looking at my eyes when you told me they were pretty.

I was blind to think that you ever wanted anything more than a taste of me.

You would have taken something precious from me and left me alone with the emptiness of its absence.

I mean, that's all you really wanted, right?

You can't bullshit someone with both eyes open.

So I thank you for the compliment.

I know my eyes are beautiful.

My family tells me so.

My friends tell me so.

And I can see it for myself.

I never needed you to tell me,

I can see it with my own eyes.