I look behind me and see more than the past.
I look before me and see more than the future.
This memory of more than I’ve experienced
is the thousand-yard stare.

My eyes are cloudy with the mist of war.
Drops of rain mix with the red dust and sweat, and blood.
If the film were removed from my eyes I couldn’t bear to see.
So I don’t look at the present.
I yield to the thousand-yard stare.

The mind holds all that ever was and ever will be.
But, the heart breaks with the heavy burden.
So, the mind provides a buffer to the sights too
horrible to imagine or remember.
My eyes will never see what others see.
My pupils are fixed and dilated with the thousand-yard stare.

© 1967 Penny Rock