Poem: Don’t Blink

Don’t blink

They say we blink every

four seconds on average.

Blink.

We blink in between our

thoughts. Blink. They are

cuts in a movie scene,

punctuation in writing.

Blink.

We blink at the end of lines,

paragraphs, pages, breaking

down content into compre-

hensible phrases, swallows.

Blink.

Too, we blink when we come

to understand something, often

at the same instant as others,

as if mentally synchronized.

Blink.

Helps us process the big picture,

digest the visual input received.

Blink.

We need to blink; it lubricates

the eyes (don’t want them dry,

so go ahead, have a good cry).

Blink.

But when attention is critical,

when times turn dark and dire,

when existence is threatened,

they say we don’t blink.