I See You

Desire sleeps with each
And walks with each through soft sunsets
And prays with each
In quiet contemplation of the night,
Kisses with us as we kiss
The cheeks of aged women
And laughs with us
As we tease an infant's almond eyes
With the glitter of a ring.

I see you
In the quietest of places,
Melodious in tranquil stranger's faces,
Searching for lost children in a park,
Expressionless in the churnig wings
Of startled birds
Deserting the burnt green
Of august's lawns.
I see you restless
In the quiet waters
Of misty ponds
With brown cattails crying
For solitude and peace
From snatching fingers of young boys
Or late tadpoles stirring in the mud.

The wold it seems to me
Is deaf
All beauty goes unsung.

- Sitaram (written 1965)