It's easy to describe my father's eyes

And that's because of late

I am my father's eyes

Advancing years have diminished his sight

He can still see outlines and shapes

But when he needs to see detail

I am my father's eyes

I read directions and recipes to him

When he cooks

And learn that burgundy greatly improves

The flavor of beef stroganoff

I read coin and stamp catalogues to him

And learn that coins from the Holy Land

Last thousands of years

Because of the arid climate there

I take him to the doctor

His nurse practitioner appears to be of Thai extraction

Her hair is as black

As the night of a tryst with an unforgotten lover

Her eyes are as brown

As the sweetest chocolate I've ever tasted

And I take joy in her beauty

And I take joy in the attention and loving care she gives my father

But I feel sad and inadaquate

That I can't send the delicious signals to his brain

That I would send

If I were the eyes he was born with

Someday I will be very old

And statistics and genetics tell me

That my eyesight will not be good

But I'll take joy in memories stored up

Of things I saw

When I was my father's eyes

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