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”
About the poet
Now here's a bit of advice Bibsy Soenharjo was born 1928 in Indonesia.
Be sure that nice really means nice She has been crafting verse for more than fifty
years. Her first anthology, “Heart & Soul – A
Then you'll never be losing at dice
Kaleidoscope of Poetry and One Short Story”
Though you may lose your heart once or twice was published in 2007 by the MPH Publishing
Group of Malaysia.
Bibsy Soenharjo

Point of View
Third person

Synopsis
This poem is about a woman who was cheated by a man with quiet eyes and regretted her folly.

Theme
Being wise in love
Seeing through lies
Having self-respect
Heeding advice
Deceitful relationaships

Language and Style

Conversational style.
Simple colloquial language.

Tone
Reflective
Regret
Calm
 2

Explanation
Stanza 1
The woman fell in love with the man with such quiet eyes. She did not know that the man’s eyes were two
pools of lies. The man’s eyes had so won the woman’s heart that she did not realize that the man was
deceiving her. The man begged her to have sex with him.

Stanza 2
In this stanza, the woman realized that she had been cheated by the man and she regretted what she had
done. She wished that she had listened to the advice never to compromise with pleasure-seeking men.
Then, she’d be free of her regrets and self-doubts.

Stanza 3
The persona gives some advice to every one. It is important to know that man is truly nice, that is sincere
and trustworthy so that a woman will not gamble away her love although she may have just lost her heart.

Exercise 1
Answer the following questions

Stanza 1
1. Who had such quiet eyes?
2. What do the “the two pools of lies” represent?
3. Why did she fall in love with the man?
4. What was the man imploring her?

Stanza 2
1. What advice should she have listened to?
2. What did the guys want?
3. What would she be free from?
4. What had she compromised?

Stanza 3
1. What is the advice that we should take?
2. What can we afford to lose?

Exercise 2
Fill in each blank with a suitable word.

The woman fell in love with the man with such ................... (1) eyes that she was not aware that
the man’s eyes were ................... (2) of lies that were covered by the thinnest .................... (3). Those eyes
were begging her to ................... (4) him a wonderful time.
Then, she .................... (5) her mistake. She has .................... (6). She wishes that she had been
.................... (7) enough to listen to the .................... (8) not to compromise with men who only loved
sensual .................... (9).
We are given a .................... (10) of advice that is to make sure that a .................... (11) is
.................... (12) and trustworthy. Consequently, a woman would not have lost .................... (13) although
falling is love is a .................... (14).

Exercise 3
Choose the most suitable answer among the four options.
1. Why did the woman fall in love with the man?
A Because he had two pools of lies.
B Because he was breathing desolate sighs.
 3

C Because he had those quiet eyes,

D Because he was paradise.

2. Which line in the poem in stanza 1 tells us that the man was not honest?
A He had such quiet eyes B They were two pools of lies
C Were breathing desolate sighs D Imploring her to be nice

3. Which word in stanza one tells us that the man was begging the woman to give in to him?
A desolate B imploring
C realise D render

4. The line “If only she'd been wise” tells us that the woman felt
A despair B disappointment
C furious D regret

5. What advice had the woman been given?

A Always go looking for men of pleasure.
B Not to give in to men who look for pleasure.
C Fall in love with men who have such quiet eyes.
D Make sure that the men are always nice.

6. What does the line “She'd be free from “the hows and whys” ” tell us about the woman?
A She was learning English. B She was in confusion.
C She was very busy. D She was being interrogated.

7. What does the phrase “losing at dice” mean?

A taking a gamble B playing a game
C losing a chance D winning a heart

8. Which of the following is not one of the themes of the poem?

A Being careful in love B Listening to advice
C Seeing through lies D Falling in love with men

Exercise 4
Read the extracts below and answer the questions that follow.

Extract 1

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

a. What caused the woman to be attracted to the man?

...........................................................................................................................................................
 4

b. What were the quiet eyes covered with?

...........................................................................................................................................................

c. What did the man want from the woman?

...........................................................................................................................................................

d. Do you think a man should lie to a woman? Why? Give a reason for your answer.

...........................................................................................................................................................

Extract 2
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”

a. What had the woman wished she had done?

...........................................................................................................................................................

b. How did the woman feel?

...........................................................................................................................................................

c. What would have happened if she had listened to the advice?

...........................................................................................................................................................

d. Do you think a woman should listen to good advice? Why? Give a reason for your
answer.
...........................................................................................................................................................

Extract 3
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

a. What is the advice given?

...........................................................................................................................................................

b. What might you lose at?

...........................................................................................................................................................

c. What can you lose once or twice?

...........................................................................................................................................................

d. Should we be careful whom we fall in love with? Why? Give a reason for your answer.
...........................................................................................................................................................