Presbyopia
‘By some miracle, she felt a lifting / lost the tyranny and weight of near things’ /
"It's presbyopia—old lady eyes. . . ."
That's what her friend told her, and she marveled
at the optics of her age: years distilled
her moon blue eyes into binoculars.
She read the goldfinch in flight two yards over,
while John's first chapter was a shimmering blur.
By some miracle, she felt a lifting,
lost the tyranny and weight of near things,
her eyes drawn to a brightness hovering now
just beyond earth's endless curved horizon.
Julie Sumner is The Behemoth’s poetry editor, who recently learned of her own Presbyopia, or age-induced farsightedness. Read more of her work at her blog, windowonwords.com.
Also in this Issue
Issue 21 / April 30, 2015- Editors’ Note
Issue 21: Redeeming the Law, whale migration, cell sacrifice, and farsightedness.
- I Fought the Law
Now I think it’s time to rehabilitate its unsavory reputation. /
- The Largest Beast’s Long Migration
Blue whales shock us with their size. But their efficiency and endurance are greater still. /
- Greater Love Has No Cell
The biblical allegory written into our bodies. /
- Wonder on the Web
Links to amazing stuff /