Poem: The Language of the Listening Eye

Gauguin called painting
the language of the listening eye
which is why you should always keep
your eyes open. That way
you won’t get paint in them.

Painting while listening to Tool,
for example, can be overwhelming.
Listen: that’s not what we’re after
here at the academy.

We’re after much more—
eyes that hear; ears
that see a way out
of this morass, a role
for art in our age,
poetry that matters,
that makes us see
the world, listening
like Gauguin with our eyes.