Gaze

We are not seen
as we are
we are seen through the gaze
that interprets us
our motives
our movements
our every waking moment
we are not seen
we are figments
never fully human
just the perception
that labels us
divides us
renders us
without recognition
that we exist
within our own identities
we are who we are
and carry on
outside of that gaze
outside of that limit line
so arbitrary in its placement
so meaningless
in the face of all that we are – Caroline A. Slee