POEM1: HE HAD SUCH QUIET EYES by Bibsy Soenharjo

He had such quiet eyes She did not realise They were two pools of lies Layered with thinnest ice To her, those quiet eyes Were breathing desolate sighs Imploring her to be nice And to render him paradise If only shed been wise And had listened to the advice Never to compromise With pleasure-seeking guys Shed be free from the hows and whys Now heres a bit of advice Be sure that nice really nice Then youll never be losing at dice Though you lose your heart once or twice

SYNOPSIS

This poem is about a girl who falls in love with a pleasure-seeking man. She is fascinated with his eyes but she never realises that those eyes are two pools of lies or full of lies. She was charmed by the two eyes which looked so desolate , so lonely, and so sad, asking her to be "nice" or good to him. For him, being nice means asking her to render him "paradise". The word "render" is usually used with a service, to provide him with a service, ... what kind of service can a young girl give to a man?

The man has a pair of quiet eyes which she does not realise that they are not that "quiet". As she is charmed by the eyes, she does not listen to the advice given by her parents, her friends who are concerned with her behaviour.

If only (1) she had been wise , or able to make a good choice and decision ; (2) and had listened to advices, (3) and never compromise her principles, or values (that has been taught to her), surely she wouldn't be in such difficult situation - in which she would be asking herself questions like why did she do it, why didn't she listen to people's advice, how did that happen? etc etc.

She should know when she says somebody is nice, make sure he is " nice" or really a good man, not a dishonest person, who isn't that nice or good.

By thinking and not compromising your principles and values, you'll never lose at dice - or the game of chance... you will survive because you are not affected physically,.. even though you may lose your heart several times, but it is a game of chance... You have to get to know man, make sure that if that person is good, he IS good! You might break your heart once or twice before really finding someone you like and also honest. Hence, a piece of advice here.... do not get physically involved with a man..... Be sure that nice really means nice"!!!! Make sure that he is really nice or good, and not a deceitful person who is dishonest. Please listen to the experience and advice of other people because it would be too costly to experience it first and regret it later...

HERE'S THE LITERAL MEANING OF THE POEM

Stanza 1 The woman is taken up with his quiet eyes. The eyes mesmerise and beg her to be nice to him and make him extremely happy, that is render him paradise. The poet uses a very long imagery of the eyes breathing desolate sighs to enhance the effect of the eyes on the girl. The woman, being enamoured with those eyes, does not notice he is deceiving her. It would not be difficult to see through the man if the woman had her feet on the ground because the eyes have only the thinnest ice, easy to break through to learn the mans true nature.

Stanza 2 Something has happened to the woman and she has learnt the truth about the man. The poet suggests that she has learnt the hard way that is she learns her lesson through bad experience. She has made a mistake of trusting the man because she has refused to listen to the advice not to compromise, that is, lower her standards or expectations in order to please a man who seduces women.

Stanza 3 The poet extends her friendly advice to women to understand what is meant by nice what it means when men are nice to you. When he is nice, friendly and pleasant to you, make sure that he is sincere and trustworthy and not because he has ulterior motive, that is he wants something from you in return. The poet further comments that love may be a gamble as suggested in dice, you take your chances with someone, you may find true love or you may not. The important issue here is that ultimately you have not lost anything because you have not compromised, you are not deceived.

THEMES/ MORAL VALUES

Themes - Adapting to changes. This is inevitable. We need to adapt to all kinds of social, economic and political changes. In this poem, the flutist is aloof to changes happening around him.

- Love and appreciate the arts.

Moral Values

Aware of your family commitment. Everyone needs to take responsibility to the changes that take place in life and act accordingly. The flutist does not succumb to the changes around him. He clings on to his roots. He is not aware of his family commitments. The persona, his former lover has progressed in life while he still leads his conventional lifestyle.

Get your priorities right. Eg: Village nowadays is left quiet and deserted. Rice fields are left barren, but the flutist continues to play his flute. He needs to realize there is time to play and time to work. Hence, one must get his priorities right.