They bounce before the eyes, an aqueous scene
Of watery blobs, amorphous shapes, the size
Of lazy jellyfish or vaseline
Balloons, translucent shards of vitreous
Revolting gladly to secede from me
To bob and float in the aquarium of my eye.
My eyes now see within the nervous sea
Of light and seen these shades glide idly by.
What can they feel, drift as they do, resigned
Within another I to watch his seen
But not to ken, as shadow seen, but blind?
They only are, not will; they’ve never been.
I tolerate these inert beasts in me
Theirs is to float and be, mine is to see.
Image from www.eyeinstitute.co.nz
Richard Ratzan is a poet, a classicist and an ER doc. Electronic Mail.
Here's a good review on Floaters from eMedicine.