to look is not what we think it is
we think looking is passive – eyes open light enters shapes appear
but the act of looking is an intrusion
a reaching
a quiet violence even
because to look – really look – is to touch something without your hands

to look at another person long enough is to risk being seen yourself

that’s why we move our gaze
we glance we skim and back to the safety of surfaces
because looking deeply is costly
it breaks routine
it makes demands
it leaves you marked

but still – for those who dare –
the act of looking is how something asleep inside you finally wakes
because there are truths that will never speak first
they are waiting to be looked at