EYES LIKE WELLS

when the light hits just right
and your shades are withdrawn
I can see me
at the bottom of you

down here there is no river
twice to step in
only the universe seeping
underfoot

green in the unblinking moment
sun-stabbed iris
specks of distant galaxies
debris of ancient lovers spiraling

I try to recall
the fall
leap
push
stumble
scream

a frog sighs
murmur the only echo

heart manna plinks upon the waters
succor for the soggy soul

love shimmers like a skim
how long is forever
is a question which never surfaces

hope flutters
from your lids

tears drop

the deep deepens

Robert L. Dean, Jr. is the author of Pulp (Finishing Line Press 2022); The Aerialist Will not be Performing: ekphrastic poems and short fictions to the art of Steven Schroeder (Turning Plow Press, 2020); and At the Lake with Heisenberg(Spartan Press, 2018). A multiple Pushcart and Best of the Net nominee, his work has appeared in The Ekphrastic Review, MacQueen’s Quinterly, Sheila-Na-Gig online, I-70 Review, Suisan Valley Review, Flint Hills Review, MockingHeart Review, Midwest Quarterly Review, and many other literary journals. Dean has been a professional musician and has worked at The Dallas Morning News. He lives in Augusta, Kansas.