Eyes Above

He met them first on a tired night
I reckon they saw him before
No will left to reach for the light
He slept awake on the floor.

They watched him smile
And heard him whistle to himself
They saw his art file
And the stacked bookshelf.

They heard the phone ring
And the endearments flowing by
Then the Cupid’s broken wing
As he stared at the night sky.

They gazed at the piece of paper
Over which he brooded long
The results of the term paper
Wiped off his last song.

They watched him take his first drag
Empty glasses, crushed can
Through the smoke they saw the dirty mag
And hid behind the fan.

They saw the mother come and go
The scene never changed for long
They shook with the father’s bellow
And gazed as he stayed up all night long.

They stole a glance at the break of dawn
As he rushed out in his jogging array
They watched him stretch and yawn
And sleep for the rest of the day.

They saw the bookshelf cover in dust
Through the haze of smoke
They witnessed his pen nibs rust
As he experimented with coke.

Then one day they saw him smile
He floated into the dorm
He beamed at nothingness awhile
And lay on the bed cruciform.

He took out a photo
Of an angel they could swear
He kissed and caressed the photo
And then hurriedly cleaned the smear.

They saw lesser of him then on
But the bookshelf was cleaned
And new drawings were born
Depicting the lovely daughter of the Dean.

Then came one evening
They saw him pace around
With a wine bottle and a brown packet
A soldier readying for battleground.

They dint hear him come back all night
He returned in the morning to his room
Packed his bags and left
And they were wiped off with a broom.