The Secret In Her Eyes

A Divine Love Story Inspired by Rumi and Astronomy

Walking down the street, feeling lame
I hear someone calling my name
With a voice that makes each syllable sing
With a voice, both seductive and comforting.

I turn around and catch a glimpse
Of her beautiful crimson lips
and her milky white teeth as they peek
Pink roses blooming on her cheeks
Her flowing chestnut hair
that gleams shades of burgundy
as the sunlight pours like honey

It’s her…
It’s the girl
whose blue eyes,
I have never dared,
not even once, to stare
Because when she is around
My heart starts to race
My mind slows to a crawl.
I freeze in my place
and quickly lower my gaze

But this time is different
This time she has me trapped
with my back against the corner
and she slowly walks closer
I try hard to stay on my feet
as the distance shrinks to two feet
With no choice left, I finally look up
Our eyes meet and her gaze locks
I feel lightheaded, my mirror fogs
All I can think of is the smile
in her deep blue eyes
and the galaxy of stars
that joyfully dance inside…
They leave me mesmerized

There was a secret in those eyes
Those beautiful orbs filled with mystery
with keys thrown into the sea
They had this appeal, I couldn’t resist
They felt like a cozy nest
for a soul to lie
and peacefully die.

In my mind, these thoughts linger
as I am wrapped around her finger
I hear a faint whisper
Perhaps a sage or a teacher:
“The key to this mystery 
is at the center, not periphery
Stare again at her eyes
What do you see in the middle
of those shimmering stars?”
I look again but see nothing
Nothing more than a black pupil
that looks ordinary, unassuming
which deepens the puzzle still:
why do those brilliant stars
circle around it like a diamond ring?

The sage now speaks louder
as if to grab my attention:
“The pupil is the black hole’s twin
You know the one with such attraction
Even light can’t escape its charm
Which is why it looks darker
than a giant black squid 
at the bottom of the ocean
Its allure is so intense 
it brings time to its knees
Yes, time, that majestic force of the universe
is powerless as it bends around her will
and slows down to a crawl…
As it draws you closer 
the allure grows stronger 
and you pass through the Disk of Fire
Fueled by her lovers’ burning desire
This is your last stop before 
you arrive at the Ultimate Horizon
Beyond this line is full surrender
So, this is your moment to decide:
Make a mad dash and you might survive 
But if you cross that invisible line
Time freezes and you find eternal life 
just before the black hole
swallows you whole”

Still suspended in a sweet haze
Processing the words of the sage
A gentle breeze caresses my face
I open my eyes… and there she is
She looks at me and she blinks
In the middle, her eyelashes meet
Turning into two stacked bows,
they unleash a hundred arrows,
lashes dipped in poison and honey,
that gently pierce through my heart
as she makes me the live target
in her lovely game of darts

As the poison and honey
spread into my veins and body
She finally starts to speak
With a voice softer than silk:

~~Don’t let the darkness scare you
The path from my eyes 
leads straight to my soul 
It’s dark for a reason
To keep away pretenders
guided by only logic and reason
Because the only way to enter 
is with a leap of faith
that only a true lover can take
One more step is all you need 
To cross the invisible line 
where you’ll find my eternal love 
Sweeter than everything you know
Sweeter than even maternal love
So, don’t fight it, trust your feelings
I need you now, my little prince

Her voice, so sweet, so comforting
I unclench my fists and stop fighting
Falling toward her, I peacefully die
With nobody around to say goodbye
To a vast garden they bury my body
which they oddly call the cemetery…
… of joyfully dancing of stars

As I brace to find out
what death really feels like
I slowly wake up
to a rousing rhapsody
and sounds of a crowd in ecstasy
Curious, I try to open my eyes
But get blinded by dazzling lights
At that moment it hits me:
Wrapped under the cloak of darkness
The core of a black hole is brighter
than the most magnificent quasars
But really, how else could it be
when it swallows all the light
and devours the stars of her galaxy?
All this time nobody found out
what happened to her victims
because what fell in never came out…
Or at least that’s what we all thought…

When I finally manage to open my eyes
I witness the most magnificent of sights
My siren, the girl I followed into the dark
Surrounded by a crowd of silhouettes
Wearing gem stones and jewelry
Like a thin lace over their body
They whirl around her as she pirouettes
and come alive in this cemetery
and quench their thirst for eternity

At this last stop of my travel
The mysteries begin to unravel:

“The true mystique of the feminine
stems from a touch of the divine
who chose her as the fountain
of life and human creation
She begets kings, poets, fighters, and healers
from the byproduct of one night’s passion
If this fact doesn’t take your breath away
and rattle your conscience like thunder
You must be either dead
or a sad soul devoid of wonder

As for the black hole:
It is a disguise, a wrapper
Hiding inside is a wormhole
to a world infinitely better
Maybe the pupil is the best metaphor:
A photon that goes through the pupil
is neither trapped nor forgotten
Instead it becomes the kernel
of our precious sense of vision
So, an image that is truly special
— Like the first smile of your baby,
or the moment of two lovers’ fusion
after a lifetime of yearning —
becomes a most treasured memory
that makes this life worth living
What were once vagrant photons
bouncing around aimlessly
now snuggle in her bosom
feasting on love eternally

So, maybe a black hole is the same
A pupil gazing at the cosmos
nestled inside a galaxy-like iris
It is a gateway, disguised as a vortex
All the information that falls in
gets recorded on the cortex
of the universe’s giant brain
with all due respect
to the great Stephen Hawking

Then again, maybe death is the same
A dull grain, crushed and eaten
is resurrected in the mane of a stallion
Milk must be whipped and beaten
to turn into buttery cream
An oblivious fetus in a womb
Fears the world, dreads to be born
Not aware that he lives in a tomb!
When he finally comes out
He is blinded by dazzling lights —
Very much the way I was… 

So, maybe these are all clues
to embrace our next transition:
If you seek the journey to become
a polished mirror for the sublime,
breathe out love and compassion,
and fan the flames of every heart’s passion
You will be so precious to the heavens
He won’t let your memory vanish…
Instead of a lion’s ferocious mouth
The grave will turn into a thrilling ride
to a world you never before imagined”

Electrified by these secrets
that her eyes silently explain
I now speak faster than
an auctioneer on caffeine
Until… I see her in the corner
Standing quietly and listening
She gives me a coquettish wink
and goes: ~You talk a lot, darling
You should be a professor or something…

Blushing, I say:

—Actually… I am a professor…
and the son of a preacher
So, both my job is to blame and my genes

~Ha! Now it all makes sense
The Queen of Soul said it best:
“The only man who could ever reach me 🎶
Was the sweet talkin’ son of a preacher man” 🎶

—If it’s alright, I have another question:
All these years I have been burning
from your love like Majnun
I jumped head first into this rabbit hole
But I don’t even know for whom
You are my final unsolved mystery
Who are you, my sweet lady?

~ I am… everyone’s Beloved

Seeing her adoring fans
I thought that much was clear
—But then, who am I… to you?

~You are.. the Beloved’s Beloved

I let out a big gasp
and a deep, whistling sigh
I am the beloved’s beloved?
Words I hopelessly dreamed
to one day hear from her lips
since the first moment I heard her voice
laying in shavasana, my eyes closed
one sweltering winter evening

And… what do they call you?
~If you are Majnun, she smiled coyly
  what would that make me?
—Layla? I guess??
~Not quite… but close
  My name is Leena
—Leena, of course…
Tender and delicate in Arabic
The torch of light in Hellenic
For her beauty and radiance
A name so fitting and poetic

—One last question:
What was that ceremony
and who were those men
back in the cemetery?

~Those were miserable people
With selfish hearts
and empty lives
But they had this one thing:
A sharp pang of guilt
And a deep yearning 
for something more than 
a sterile, barren existence
that set them on this journey
to search for redemption

Because you see… 
Deep inside every soul
— even one darker than a lump of coal —
lies hidden a sparkling diamond
praying for the divine touch
that will one day bring down
the towering walls of his prison
that he built with
his very own hands

Everyone has a gift 
and this is mine
My touch turns lumps of coal
into a diamond mine
Once freed, those souls 
become the dancing stars
that you saw in my eyes 
Inviting others to join 
their journey of redemption
and search for the meaning 
behind the secret in my eyes
And at the end 
they brought 
my beloved 
to my heart

I held my breath
as I listened
to this amazing creation
And found out
that the woman
I madly loved
Loved me back
all along

—So, what happens now?

~You are coming with me
Remember, you said it yourself
How was it?
”The vision that is most precious 
Lives in my heart for eternity”

she said, as she held my hand
and we started walking away

So, don’t feel sad for me
Because this is bliss
From her lips
I got the eternal kiss…