Behind My Eyes
Written by Christina Charteris - November 16th, 2025
In fragrance and phrases
unsuspecting of their worth,
seconds become hours
as memories unearth.
Fragments of people
who took part in my past,
appear on the footpath
to places peculiar and dark.
Behind my eyes lies
an ocean of time,
a stream of confusion
slipping behind.
Where one leaf of grief
begins to show,
you will find a vine lined
with leaves intertwined
between hands that let go.
Whilst on stable ground,
earthquakes tend to break,
trembling to the surface
at the smallest mistakes.
Yet in concealed crevices,
glorious flowers grow,
flamboyant fish swim
making the obscure their home.
The faintest spark of hope
allows butterflies to roam.
In feathers and threads
a child’s chatter weaves to life,
Stringing together a cure
for the thing they call mature.
As books, only the kind
take the time to read,
be patient with those
who do not proceed.
Translation is not a task
ideally done alone.
Someday, they will turn
the page on their own.
'Behind My Eyes' reflects on the harder parts of being intimately known and wanting to be known. With every new relationship, whether platonic or romantic, I have felt the repetition of similar patterns; some good, some bad, some weird. I drew from moments in my life where I have experienced the same deep loss and sometimes regret in a cyclic manner. This poem centres on the beauty of nostalgia in new experiences, where grief and hope coexist.
- Christina Charteris