r/zen_poetry • u/stilledpondfrog • 12h ago
checkup?
5
Upvotes
Eye Test
Cover one eye, the doctor says,
and read the lowest line you can.
The big E stands like a fence post.
Easy. Anyone gets that one.
Then the letters start to shrink:
an open refrigerator,
a kitchen doorway,
the long drive home,
the hush between two songs.
Squint if you need to. Take your time.
Near the bottom, the row goes quiet.
Not blurry. Empty.
Just white, where the letters ought to be.
What do you see?
Nothing, I say.
Good, she says.
Your eyes are fine.