this must be some
optometrical sneakery
somehow my vision
has slipped
away from me
wasn’t it just yesterday
i saw your face clearly
across the room
how can it be
that i now squint hard, lean close
to read my own notebook
and six inches from my nose
i see only blurs?
until this dusty city
forced me to extract my
contact lenses and
don glasses
which sweat sent slipping
down my nose
did i see the contrast
constantly
the difference between
what i could see
actually
and artificially
and suddenly
i felt very
very
very
vulnerable
a friend once said that
our near-sightedness
is an indication of
a genetic inclination
toward writing
i suppose
that’s comforting
narinda heng 