by Duane Anderson
In the Eyes of a Chain Link Fence I’ve got you surrounded, but you already knew that, so where do you think you are going to go? Sure, there are escape routes. You can hop over me, open the gate and walk through me if you want, or go back into your house. I might not be much for privacy, so I suggest that you not go skinny dipping in the backyard pool if you don’t want to be seen, but if you don’t mind, maybe all of your neighbors will put up their own privacy fence out of self-defense. I once served a purpose, keeping your dogs in your yard, safe from wandering around and getting hit by a car, so you wouldn’t have to comb the neighborhood trying to find a lost family member, and today, I am still standing, this time keeping the neighborhood dogs out of your yard where they might leave you a few unwelcomed presents. I appreciate all the effort of trimming around me, for I know you like a well-groomed yard, and the long grass tickles me and blocks a portion of my view. Keep me around. I will always be your protector. In the Eyes of the Front Door You open me, then close me each time you leave the house or return back home, so you should find me quite familiar. I am the entrance to your house, and your exit to the outside world. I have a wife, located at the rear of the house, but we never see each other since your residence was built, as well as our children who provide you with the privacy to your bedrooms and bathrooms, an unfortunate outcome in my daily life. Sometimes you may hear someone knocking on me, or ringing the doorbell next to me, and I am sorry for any inconvenience of not having a little peephole for you to look through, though I do have a safety latch for your protection, so you can open me just a crack, or all the way if you wish to see who came knocking on my torso. I give you the keys to my heart, lock me up at night, or when you leave, keeping you safe from predators is one of my treasured values. In the Eyes of a Tongue Treat me well if you wish to taste what you eat. I am not one that you can turn on and off, turning me on for a tasty treat of ice cream, then off, when your mother fixes you liver and onions, or some other vegetable you cannot support its flavor, and I will also let you know when things get too hot when I get burned all over, and especially when it is too cold. I work with the brain, so you may have experienced our team work before with something you call brain freeze. Each of us trying to teach you a lesson in eating some foods at a slower pace. I too help you in forming the words that come out of your mouth, that is, if you feel you have something worth saying, and then, other times, I stick my head out of your mouth, not to catch a few snowflakes, but to let others know what I think of them. Watch out now. My head is ready to come out. In the Eyes of a Security Camera Before we get started, I want to let you know I get an annual eye exam, and my optometrist stated my vision is still a perfect 20/20, so I know what I am saying when I have you in the scope of my eye as you stand at the front door, and am informing someone now to let them know you are here so they can press the button to unlock the door, and as you enter the building, I will continue to keep a vigilant eye on you as long as you remain in my presence, but you are not my only concern. I watch everyone, so while you are here, do not plan on going where you do not belong. I will keep an ever-watchful eye, for today, I am your big brother. Duane Anderson currently lives in La Vista, NE. He has had poems published in Fine Lines, Cholla Needles, Tipton Poetry Journal, and several other publications. He is the author of ‘On the Corner of Walk and Don’t Walk’, ‘The Blood Drives: One Pint Down' and ‘Conquer the Mountains.’
RUNDELANIA 