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Hank Desroches May 2012
I wish I knew.
I wish I knew what was coming.
I can’t see the future.

Here’s something else:
Cats are enabled with an evolutionary trait called "tapetum lucidum,” also known as eyeshine.
It reflects light inside their corneas, and allows them to see in the dark.
But, if I also had tapetum, would I want to see what the dark holds?
Would I want to see what lies in the dark?
Would I want to see the future, if I could?

Instinctively, I think I would.
But the Romantic inside of me would regret the choice.
I’m regretting it now.
But some perverse way would persuade me otherwise, to look forward, so as to foresee mistakes I don’t have to make.

I don’t want to make any mistakes.
But I don’t want to cheat.
I’m a paradox, and I’m broken.
But I’m not a cheater.

I know the rules, and however much I don’t enjoy it, I will play by them.
Diane Oct 2013
Casting solar flares like aurora borealis
I have swallowed its color
Tapetum lucidum
Liquid mercury of blue green dances
Mouth tasting of irredescent residue
Listen…
The static is louder than your breathing
Kinetic energy flows faster
Than phosphorus catching fire
Let it win.
Lift your heart
Your tree pose is nearly perfect
Yes, I know auroras have solar winds, not flares, but flares sounded better!
Nihl Jun 2013
Her hair is dark and her eyes are glowing,
like light bouncing back at me from a panthers tapetum,
a hungry carnivore.
-
I asked what she wanted from me
“Your soul” she replied.
"I would if I could” I thought.
But I knew a soul couldn't be given away so easily,
it is not bought and sold like a mundane possession.
Instead a soul is lent, borrowed or stolen from it’s owner
as tiny little pieces,
fragmentation of a whole.
-
Particulars of life essence
experience caught between breaths
like the soup of oblivion between stars.

N.H.
Candented Jun 2020
two paths
diverge in the woods
shadow and light are misunderstood
judgement is cast
ashes and soot
cover the ground the fire afoot

(but)
you
see with your eyes
(and)
you
chase after the heights
(but)
you
never realize
what youre missing
weighed down youre sinking
overthinking
...your life

burning fast
portione in turn
sight of the eyes
pierce soul inturred -
flying high
grave unearthed
billowing trail
of smoke and burns(embers)-
tumbling down
within
but hear
melody sound
becomes thunder
spinning around
passions delight
  love is the ground
   as moon to the night
Lyrics for a song by candented
The Fire Burns Sep 2017
Darkness reigns as night falls,
the sounds change hushed now,
secrets from the day reveal themselves,
pinpricks of starlight attract the eye.

Movement in the periphery,
disappears when looked for,
imagined creatures and demons,
move along with the actual evil.

Silence, a blanket covering,
ripped open by the coyotes,
their howls create a flight response,
though they are further away than they sound.

Campfire light flares,
sending the night oozing for shadows,
the flickering fire creating it's own
dancing creatures, just outside the ring of light.

Gravel crunches on the road,
as headlight eyes peer ahead,
disappearing around the curve,
leaving red lights and wondering who is roaming the night.

Glowing eyes appear,
tapetum reflections of gold,
jack rabbit ears raise,
as it skirts the fire light.

I close my eyes and drift to sleep,
tent fly open to the sky,
when my eyes open again,
the sun greets me with morning.
The Fire Burns Jan 2018
Gnashing teeth
stained red,
polished by,
a searching tongue.

Instincts on high alert,
nostrils flare,
tapetum gathers light,
searching the dark.

Ears perked,
stillness of muscle,
an odd calmness,
before the attack.

Hindquarters load,
the spring has sprung,
launching, teeth bite down,
crimson metallic Tang in the air
The Fire Burns Aug 2017
nocturnal creatures prowl,
slit pupils, dilated, watch,
tapetum reflecting ambient light,
circadian rhythms lost.

hands reach out,
darkness blinds,
fingers find things,
can you identify?

clicks and pops,
echolocation.
a skill,
undeveloped.

moonless night,
cloud-covered,
complete blackness,
like sackcloth.

pure fear encased,
soundless as well,
sensory deprivation,
panic attack.

running, running,
walls, banged,
glass broken,
tree branches scratch.

or is it claws
and teeth attacking,
blood dripping from cuts,
marking an unseen path.

— The End —