Shut Our Eyes

A poem about being trapped in a situation, and having to face whatever is coming.

Eyes squeezed tight shut.
Can’t bear to look at the camera.
A white flash and we’ll be caught.
Time captured.

I want this night to go on forever,
But you don’t want your picture taken
And our secret will be blown wide open
If the prints go public.

Eyes screwed tight shut,
Because without pictures we can make believe.
Imagine we’re someplace else,
Someplace without a camera.
Someplace where you don’t have to whisper.
But imagining is useless now.

The flash is blinding
And the click is like a bolt drawn hard.
Tight locked, tight shut.
Eyes open, staring into the lens of the camera.
Our hands meet and lock,
In this together now.
This picture’s sealed our fate.