Cultures rise like gods and die, only to be reborn as canonized saints. My forefathers killed you and raped you and stole your horses. My foremothers condemned you in a trial you never attended, never knew of. Words kill our meanings. The periphery stores all information.
Direct gaze is uncommon and secondary in use.
Some never gaze directly at anything, but study with close scrutiny all peripheral visions. Sadder fates are stamped on the head of potential. The mirror, the reflective surface, may be the only metaphor of any importance. Thought minus flesh, symbol without meaning. The unexplained signifier, the perplexing diagram.