Periaktoi Writing Post

One Eye, Two Eyes, Three Eyes

A frail, old man sat in his worn-down chair.

He wore glasses underneath his wild hair.

Lorne, he said his name was, which meant lonely,

with a raspy voice he spoke quite slowly.

He showed a worn and used ophthalmoscope,

explaining its usage across the scope

of his one and only passion, the eyes.

Yes, he was quite senescent but seemed wise,

at the least when it was about the eye.

Beginning the tale, he let out a sigh.

Once upon a time lived a small young boy

with his brother who caused him grief, not joy.

This boy named Saul had a harsh, mean mother

who only loved and cared for his brother.

‘Why, you may ask, and I will tell you why’:

both brother and mother had a strange eye,

one that sat on the middle of their head,

but this boy had two normal eyes instead.

Soon, Saul’s mother refused to feed him food,

saying he was always up to no good,

and the poor boy went to a nearby hill,

quite hungry and becoming slightly ill.

Right then, however, appeared a fairy

who offered Saul some choice meat and dairy,

telling him to be happy at all times.

The fairy then gave the boy a few dimes

and told him to sleep next to them that night.

Confused though he was, Saul replied “alright.”

The next morning, the boy saw that his change

had increased over thousand-fold — quite strange.

and there was also a short written note

right next to the boy’s worn and little tote.

The note told him to leave and not look back,

to stop living in such squalor and lack.

So Saul went out into reality

and tried to live a life with quality.

But poor Saul was never truly content

‘cause his own blood treated him with resent.

‘That, my friend, is why I am so gloomy:

all my kin have also abandoned me.’