I think the problem is that the word iridescent conjures up some pretty specific visual images for most people (the sheen on an oil slick or the inner surfaces of a sea shell).  Most people don't think about the technical definition of iridescent.  Probably a lot of people don't even really what the technical definition is.  For them, it's more of a I-know-it-when-I-see-it type of word, so, I think you're going to have to give them something that leads them back to the technical definition if you want them to understand what you mean here.


I couldn't pass on a vocabulary discussion.

Parallax has the meaning you are looking for and has a strong literary history established by Joyce. Onomatopoetically speaking, it sounds terrible though.

If you really want irridescently to work I think you're going to have to introduce physical movement into the poem. Irridescently by itself doesn't immediately imply it, and as /u/theTempestry said you're going to have to lead the reader to the technical definition.

If you mean "we see things differently," why not just say that? And, if that is what you mean, iridescently isn't the exact right word. Are you avoiding saying "differently" because you've already said "different" in the final stanza and don't want to repeat the word?

isn't that [pearlescent](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearlescent_coating)?

iridescence is the property of seeing different colors as the point of view changes, if I'm not mistaken. would that not parallel with two people seeing different things (as in having different opinions) from different perspectives, as I'm trying to do here?

edit: or perhaps that's not your point. if it seems redundant, I see where you're coming from, at least in the literal sense. but my choice of iridescently was just to illuminate the contrasting perspectives and provoke some thought on the importance of perspective-taking and tolerance.


>    iridescently   

This solecism isn't working for me. Iridescent is a way of describing a color. It's therefore a property of the way we see things already. I'm not sure what's potentially gained by turning the adjective into an adverbial nonce word. 

You're having the poem's speaker tell us, rather than show us, all of this. We're not really given much of a reason to connect with the speaker, or with the poem. A few unanswered questions that might be relevant to revising: Why does the speaker adore this other person's eyes? What things do the speaker and other person see differently? Why does the speaker adore this other person's smile? What are the different things they're laughing at? What's the title got to do with it?

I agree about the title. Its relevance to the poem isn't established for readers in a clear or relatable way.

I enjoy the idea of love unconditionally. And the second stanza is very relatable and amusing. However the word irredentist does not fit here at all. Also the title seems contradictory, but maybe there is a reason for that that you didn't illustrate.

    i adore your eyes
    even when we see
    iridescently
    
    i adore your smile
    even when we laugh
    at different things

[1](https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/65loeq/the_wayward_compass/dgbv9d3/) [2](https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/comments/65qqm3/inspiration/dgcg2rn/)

a thorn in my side