Dangerous Eyes
You know it. You throw it. Don't say you don't! The “oh my god, you can't be serious,” look. The “you did what” look. The dreaded “you're gonna get it look. My mother threw it like a dart with a barb that stuck in my skin— a fish hook that pulled me into compliance or not. Now, I pull against that line and struggle to control the look. I close my eyes and breathe and smile and free my twins to say that, and do that— whatever they want— without the look, to swim free even though I know there are sharks in the water.
What struck me most is that the poem isn't really about the look itself—it is about inheritance. The same expression that once shaped your childhood becomes something you consciously refuse to pass on. I especially appreciated the ending. You don't pretend the world is safe; you simply choose not to become another hook in the line. That quiet act of restraint feels deeply courageous. Thank you for reminding us that breaking a cycle can happen in something as small as a glance.
This captures so much in so few words. The power of a parent’s look, and the struggle to break that cycle for your own kids, really comes through. The ending is hopeful and moving. Really loved this.