Keep Your Eyes on Me

Keep Your Eyes on Me

Garvin Williams

You call me out upon the sea 
You whisper to “look at me” 
Though the storms are booming 
And Life’s hushes are forks scratched on plates 
Where sand sinks without permission- 
Your voice a lullaby 
A solid rock 
Lull me to sleep 

Arborescent strength 
Somehow finds stillness through the waves…
And they listen 
How can roots tie to the waves?
It seem as though my mind was never meant to understand.
And the waves listen-

So I wonder when will I? 
My eyes are known to wander
Catching glimpses of unfulfilling shine 
That demands all my attention 
When my mind deems you dull 
When vice feels more virtuous 
A broken record of sorts 

Always temporary 
Never pleased 
Always shine, 
Always flee, 
Always lies,
Battling this ominous being who has come to set me free

You call me out on the sea 
You whisper to “look at me”
As if you have already known how sweet-less This candy will taste after a while
Only to expose the cavities 
That you are never afraid of witnessing 
Though I am afraid to smile, to reveal the lies 
That has taken captive of my very breath
And with its gaps and cracks you still find beauty 

You call me out on the sea 
You whisper to “look at me”
As if I was never lost 
Cards on the table
You show your hands completely 
Marked for us
Marked for me?
Where a mustard seed is somehow enough 
To fill my frail being 

A fathers love that knows no bounds almost as Incomprehensible as this arborescent serene
Where roots clash with waves on the sea 
Steady waiting 
Whispering to “keep your eyes on me”

---

Garvin Williams 
Poet & Teacher

Garvin is an 8th grade language arts teacher, poet, and social activist located in Dallas, TX. His work can be described as a poetic memoir of what it looks like to paint a story through vulnerability, humanity, rhythm, and tenderness. You can read more about Garvin by following his poetry Instagram page: @g.williams_gatherings
And his podcast Instagram page: @whatsthegist_podcast

Photography by Marios Kanellos