Orange and blue paper speech bubbles hang together by strings from a small hook against a cream background.

Original artwork, not a still

Walt Whitman

What is it that you express in your eyes? It seems to me more than all the words I have ever read.

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

The question places the expression in someone’s eyes beyond the reach of a vast store of language. Reading has offered much, but this silent encounter seems to contain more. The contrast gives attention to another person an intensity that cannot be reduced to the number of words available.

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