Hawaiian Supermom

He told me how to read people’s eyes
by looking right in
he said
you get a glimpse of their
true intentions
you know right away
when a person’s smile
is really a smile
or when a laugh
is merely noise
coming out of a vacant corridor

and when they lie,
he warned me,
when they lie
they look away
hide behind darkened veils
so the masks they wear
won’t reveal
the true ingredients
of their artificial colors

won’t show
their wish to harm you
to break you down
and make you crawl
beneath their slithering tongues
and sharpened talons

So don’t you let them
he said
don’t you let those people
have that power over you
instead read their eyes
to decide
whether to topple buildings
or build bridges
and hiding places
together

and you
he beamed
you

be transparent
vibrant
shine so bright
that you radiate
everything that you are
and hope to be