Those Failing Eyes..... Poem by RIC BASTASA

my fingers
have failed my eyes
weary after too
much scrutiny
over words and
landscapes

too much watching
finally overlooks
the more important
thoughts

the child in you
is dying
wisdom comes forth
in wrinkled
states

black lines under the
eyelids
vigilant hands still
groping

tonight i am throwing
away
what you think you
needed most
which i think are not
essential anymore

the night howls like
a wolf
the rain drops like
cats and dogs

the roof is strong and
the house is unmoved by
all these rattled emotions
this earth, this sky
that moonless night
those stars gone by.