OctPoWriMo #9: I See You

When I write, the world around me seems closer – whether I walk out in nature, noticing clouds or falling leaves, or spend time with family and friends, cherishing each moment, or look into the past to wonder what life was once like. Mostly, I strive for a positive outlook, especially these dark days. My apology as I grow older than dirt? I don’t have the stamina any more to do what is needed here or there. But I hope never to stop seeing what struggles others face and how decisions made in haste can bring great suffering.

I see you. Do you see me?

I am homeless, sleeping on the street in winter snow,

the mother in northern Syria who doesn’t hear the news

and scrambles to bring her three children to safety,

but there is no safe place after today;

the elderly man who cannot read insurance forms

and ‘forgets’ to pay his bills,

the 6^th grader sitting in the back row of my classroom, hungry,

the child bride bartered for drugs,

the college student who apologizes for not attending class,

covering her black eye with her hands,

the veteran who talks of bubbles in his brain after serving in Afghanistan,

but his VA doctor won’t listen to his symptoms, and

the immigrant who seeks asylum and must wait and wait,

a two-year backlog before her case is heard.

You say, ‘”Let them find work and make their own way. I did.”

And I say, “But for the grace of God or the fickle, fickle finger of fate,

you would have a life like theirs.”

I see you. Do you see me?

Children of War (JaneB on Pixabay)

Tomorrow's prompt: Touch.

You can visit OctPoWriMo at http://www.octpowrimo.com/ to read what others have written. Thank you, Morgan Dragonwillow.