In the Nictate of An Eye
There are a few things one says with a blink
“In the blink of an eye,” comes to mind, don’t you think?
It means it’s done quickly, for except if one’s dead
The blink of an eye is an instant, it’s said
Unless you have happened to have had a stroke
Then blinking takes longer, and that is no joke
But normally blinking goes by very quickly
So fast that you don’t even notice how swiftly
There’s another blink saying that often is heard
“She didn’t blink an eye when I told her that word!”
It obviously means that it was no big deal
Whatever was said, displayed, or appealed
Of course, it could show that that person’s inured
By things that would shock those of us who aren’t cured
Of intimate details that could come in a story
Or perhaps in a movie when it’s really quite gory
But now I digress for the word for today
Is nictate, a synonym for blinking away
The tears from your eyes or the dryness that’s there
Nictating is what you will do if there’s air
That’s forcefully blowing itself in your space
Because of a storm or some dust out of place
Perhaps you could train yourself not to nictate
A guy in Colorado made himself wait
An hour before he would willingly blink
A record now broken in the Philippines I think
That’s just what I learned whenever I looked
On google, my favorite source not a book
I hope that I’ve given you something to chew
Nictating is possibly a new word for you
If so then my job as a poet is done
I’ve taught a new word, and now I must run
In the “nictate of an eye,” I will say my goodbyes
I’ll go find more words to set forth with my rhymes
--All my writings are at mraymus.medium.com
Copyright © Matt Ray | Year Posted 2021
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