The Eyes

by Rhys Hughes

  

  Domenico Beccafumi painted Saint Lucy with her eyes lying on the plate she is holding. She gouged them out to discourage a suitor who was very persistent. When I saw the painting I heard the following dialogue between the saint and the man who admired her:

   “My eyes are down here!” she cried.

   She held the plate at chest level, annoyed that he was staring at her empty sockets while she was talking.

   “Look lower, where my breasts are!” she demanded.

   “I only have eyes for you,” he stammered.

   “It’s the other way around," she said, handing him the plate.

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The Mind

by Rhys Hughes