Portraits

 Portraits

Faces are a canvas of expressions,

The eyes a window into the soul.

Is the combination a ready reckoner

 Of the person before you?

Emotions displayed on canvas are

Sometimes in contrast to the eyes,

A smiling face might not show the

True feelings of the one before you.

The eyes in faces might reveal the 
True nature of the one before you,
A smiling face hides a sad eye, or

A twinkling eye a hostile face!

For emotions are a complex mix,

Of feelings and the face a good

Medium of feelings. A portrait

Is a true landscape of emotions.

The peaks and valleys of feelings

Are displayed on a canvas, a

Triangle between the eyes and

Mouth (with a nose in between).

The highs and lows of feelings

Appear brilliantly on the face,

The peaks and valleys of trust

And betrayal written large.

The love of a mother, and the

Joy of a father, the crooning of

A babe, however, ignites a similar

Feeling; therefore a portrait!

A portrait, therefore I capture

On cards and disks, to savour in

Moments of joy and sadness, the

Expressions so precious!

The landscape of the soul is

A joy to view and save, for humanity

Is a complex mix of colours so

Intense, therefore a portrait.

A child's smile is so precious,

While the dancing girl's joy

So infectious, the gentleman's

Pensiveness forces you to think.

Therefore a portrait, to share in

Moments of joy and cheer, tho'

Sometimes one must be grounded,

Happiness tempered by seriousness.

The eyes I seek though far they be,

A glimpse into the soul of him/her

For clues of what might be, to look

Inwards and outwards be a hint?

And so share I a few portraits,

That describe the content of

The poem, the message and 

The theme so evident that be.

Lives fade, faces fade, eyes dull

But a portrait lives, a canvas a

Dedication to emotions that live,

A testimony to complex feelings.

Tell me if I err, guide me when I

Gloat, a hint from a face, a glint

From an eye, tactile and unsaid,

A powerful communication.

An ancient past captured in their faces,

Remnants of  Greek genes in their

Blood; did Alexander know their 

Ancestors? They stare into the future.