He had such quiet eyes

He Had Such Quiet Eyes (Stanzas 1 and 2)
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 she’d been wise
And had listened to the advice
Never to compromise
With pleasure-seeking guys
She’d be free from “the hows and whys”
Bibsy Soenharjo-1968

1. What does the phrase ‘two pools of lies’ refer to?

………………………………………………………………………….

2. Which lines show that the man is saying “I love you, and if you love me, prove it!”

………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………….

3. Which stanza shows that there is a sense of regret?

…………………………………………………………………………

4. What do you understand by the phrase “the hows and whys”?

………………………………………………………………………….
………………………………………………………………………….
Practice 4:

He Had Such Quiet Eyes
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 she’d been wise
And had listened to the advice
Never to compromise
With pleasure-seeking guys
She’d be free from “the hows and whys”
Now here’s a bit of advice
Be sure that nice really means nice
Then you’ll never be losing at dice
Though you may lose your heart once or twice
Bibsy Soenharjo-1968

1. What does the phrase ‘thinnest ice’ imply?

…………………………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………….
2.In this poem, the poet talks about the betrayal of a young girl’s feelings for a man. She believes in his sincerity to her as he had pleaded to her to surrender to him. Write the two lines depicting this.
…………………………………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………………………………….
3.What is the main theme in this poem?
………………………………………………………………………………
4.What did you learn from this poem? Explain.
………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………