Opia

Opia - n. the ambiguous intensity of looking someone in the eye, which can feel simultaneously invasive and vulnerable—their pupils glittering, bottomless and opaque.

Your eyes tell me none of your dreams
They only convey me your nightmares
Stop this war, I don’t want to invade any more
You think I’m so bent on winning
But in all honesty, I don’t even care

I just want to head home and shut my eyes
Forget about tonight, forget you were in my sight
Five feet away, you were just standing there
Trying to share your story with your stare

But if you think you can see right through me
I’m sorry to disappoint
You can’t see anything
If all I am is empty

If you haven’t already noticed by now
I did sense the pain in your eyes
You think you’re an expert at pretending
But I think I’m a little better at exposing

I’m tired and I want to let go of everything
If winning meant hurting, then winning means nothing
You’re tired and you want to let go of everything
If winning meant hurting, then winning means nothing.

Author's Note

I wrote about hands (The Last Handshake) the other time. This time, I write about eyes.

Reviews

[H L Rose]

I found this very provoking and I’m a fan of the title. I’ll try to offer some useful constructive criticism, but I’m no expert so I could be wrong about any of it.

In the first stanza, I really like the third line. I like your word choice with “invade”.
Me in the second line trips me up a bit. I may suggest taking it out.

I think the second stanza has some good imagery and gives the poem a lot of depth.
I do think the use of “just” twice might be a little unnecessary.

The third stanza is very provoking with “If all I am is empty”. I really like this stanza.

In the fourth stanza, I like the contrast of “pretending” and “exposing”. I’m not sure if “a little” in line four of this stanza is necessary.

I like the repetition in the last stanza, though I don’t know enough to say for sure whether it’s used well or not. I’ve been told repetition is a tricky thing. The last line is great and a strong ending.

I love this poems sentiment and enjoyed reading it!

[Nisha M.]

Thank you so much for this!!!!!

[Zoya]

I like keeping my thoughts and feelings to myself so when people stare me in the eye, i feel, as you said, vulnerable.
Although you sure can tell a lot about people only by looking into their eyes, there are a few who can so skilfully hide their true selves behind the irises and pretend to be someone they're not.
This was deep stuff. Well done!

[Locke Redwyne (night sy..]

Huh, interesting... This seems to have a hidden meaning behind the obvious one...

[Nisha M.]

Thank you so much! Yes, it does, actually. It's a game of who is better at detecting the other's vulnerabilities when in actual fact, there are no winners in this game because everyone is hurting. Thanks for stopping by!

[Locke Redwyne (night sys)]

Oh wow, that's cool!

[Chris Shaw]

Eyes are the mirrors of the soul. I think you can tell a lot about someone from the way they look at you. Sometimes it isn't what you want to see. Nicely expressed poem.

Chris

[Nisha M.]

I'm so glad you enjoyed it, Chris. Thank you for taking the time to read and leave a comment :)

[sette]

and it is indeed a reflection of one's soul

[Coyote Poetry]

Powerful and worthwhile words and thoughts shared.
"I’m tired and I want to let go of everything
If winning meant hurting, then winning means nothing
You’re tired and you want to let go of everything
If winning meant hurting, then winning means nothing."
I agree with the above lines. Old wise saying. "There are no noble wars, just noble warriors." I agree with your logic. No winner in war. Thank you Nisha for sharing the outstanding poetry.
Coyote

[Nisha M.]

I absolutely agree with you my friend. Thank you for reading this and for kind comment!

[Coyote Poetry]

You are welcome Nisha.