Poem by Edgar Lee Masters

Dippold the Optician

What do you see now? 
Globes of red, yellow, purple. 
Just a moment! And now? 
My father and mother and sisters. 
Yes! And now? 
Knights at arms, beautiful women, kind faces. 
Try this. 
A field of grain—a city. 
Very good! And now? 
A young woman with angels bending over her. 
A heavier lens! And now? 
Many women with bright eyes and open lips. 
Try this. 
Just a goblet on a table. 
Oh I see! Try this lens! 
Just an open space—I see nothing in particular. 
Well, now! 
Pine trees, a lake, a summer sky. 
That’s better. And now? 
A book. 
Read a page for me. 
I can’t. My eyes are carried beyond the page. 
Try this lens. 
Depths of air. 
Excellent! And now? 
Light, just light, making everything below it a toy world. 
Very well, we’ll make the glasses accordingly.

1. Jefferson Howard
2. J. Milton Miles
3. Many Soldiers
4. Percival Sharp
5. Carl Hamblin

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