Lidless, lashless, unblinking,
For five millennia it’s been
Brimming with grace – in Arabic, ‘baraka’.
Worn on how many cords round how many necks?
Protecting the bearer, not just from the evils outside –
The assassin’s blade, the poisoned cup, the onrush of the tiger –
But from the flaws within, the flaws
Of the heart.
I look at it. It gazes back. And in.
[An Eye-Agate Amulet, Indus Valley, 3,000BC]