Jacob's Eyes

Jacob's Eyes



Jacob sits at a long, wooden table
with two women and another man.
The women are looking at the approaching waiter
walking through a kitchen door with a large, clear window.

They are in a time of celebration
as can be seen by the laughter on their faces
and by the wine glasses they all hold up in their hands.

Dried fruit sits in a circular, straw basket
in the middle of the wooden table.
Bananas, apples and even a coconut and pineapple
decorate along with large, three tier candle holders
with light green candles standing though unlit.

In the background of the picture sits a gentleman
with a top hat and a mustache curled at the ends.
He holds a newspaper up in his hands.
We have a slightly side angle of the gentleman in this old picture.

He sits at a round table,
slightly blurred by distance,
letters on the paper indistinguishable to our eyes.
Blurred cars are seen driving by the windows in back.

We look.
We stare and we get chills
while looking in Jacob's eyes.
His eyes that seem to be looking back at us,
almost glaring at us, moving with us as we move.
His eyes actually blink as we quickly turn away from the old picture,
wondering if we actually saw that as Jacob continues smiling and laughing
in his celebration.

--msl2022