Aureate Eyes
by Grace Hamilton, Tintern Grammar
Years 9 – 10 Ekphrastic Poetry Finalist
‘Alvida’ by John Bauer (1912)
Life hands me a fruit,
Her luminous hair brushes my hand,
Some before who have partaken of the fruit have been promised riches,
Some already chained to afflictions,
I wait enamored by the curious possibilities the fruit vows to supply,
Life watches with her aureate eyes,
Ploddingly I press my teeth against the tuff skin,
Bitter juices spread along my tongue,
Followed a luscious tang,
However the shadow of the bitter overpowers the sweet,
My expression skews and life sighs,
Perhaps the fruit was never bitter; perhaps I had simply expected it to be sweet.