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Behind Your Eyes
By Tom Deiker


I crawl behind your eyes
To see
If you see
What I see.

Where I see only shadow
You see black and white.
Where I see black and white
You see only doubt.

I crawl behind your ears
To hear
If you hear
What I hear.

Where I hear only whispers
You hear shouts.
Where I hear shouts
You hear only sighs.

I crawl into your heart
To feel
If you still feel
What I feel.

Yes, there it is:
Our longing
To love and be loved,
Sitting right behind that little coward:
Fear.


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Tom is a clinical psychologist who has administered psychiatric hospitals in Louisiana, New Mexico, and Iowa. Tom’s 70+ articles, essays, short fiction and poetry have appeared in several dozen publications, 34 of his 86 plays have received 60 stagings in 13 states.