James Saint James(benjamin)

You paint your eyes
the color of night
accentuating
the piercing
darkness already there.
An old soul
encased in
young skin
emanating
youthful energy.
You do not laugh
from your gut.
You hold to
cynicism
as a shield
from the pain
of disappointment
and death.
Yet I sense a yearning
there behind
the eyes
and the cynicism.
A desire to be seen.
A hope for peace.
A wanting for
someone to see
past the protective
facade
into the soul
of who you are
and see beauty.