A Poem

By Nkateko Masinga

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One night at the hotel, the window open 

to let in the city air, I saw your eyes as if

for the first time; half-closed, hazel, new 

to the light filling them from outside our

room. I saw you flinch as if attacked, one

split-second is all it takes to go blind here

and what will you say was the last thing 

you saw? My awe at perfection’s gaze,

your early morning daze in the mirror’s

betrayal: which image will Brussels echo

back when your other senses take over?

Perhaps you will see tiger lilies growling  

 and blooming simultaneously. We can

never separate what is one: atoms, us,

the window and the sun’s steady glow.

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