The Man with Grey Eyes

This painting by 16th century painter Titian, "The Man with Grey Eyes" (also called "The Englishman") hung in our house throughout my childhood--I cropped this image from the larger original to match the print that my parents bought in Italy when I was a baby--it was a constant in my life and moved with us innumerable times from country to country, state to state, province to province--it was something I could always count on--It also used to terrify me--his eyes, penetrating and  inescapable, would follow me as I walked past him--there was something about his continuous watching that made him so much more than a simple painting and there were times I was certain I saw him blink--

As I got older I came to accept him as a member of our family--he had been there as long as I could remember--he had his own personality and I came to see him as dependable--watching over us with benevolence rather than a sinister intent--later in my life my parents passed him on to me and he moved with me, again across towns and borders--sadly during my last move from east to west he was lost and I was surprised by the feeling of grief I felt--this man had seen my entire life and there was a connection I felt to him--I've lost many things in many moves but for some reason this affected me more than the others--The Man with Grey Eyes was a much a part of our family as I was and to have him gone was like losing a piece of our family--I can only hope he's found a new home and family to watch over--