Lost within a world where screens are faces and smiles hide pain.
Looking around I see humans,
Squinting at the dirt,
Looking everywhere but at me.
I see scars hidden behind emojis
Tears streaming beneath the surface,
Beneath the mask.
I see people passing and bumping
Into each other on the street,
Only to pass by without looking in their eyes.
I see hearts yearning for something more
Than a thumbs up.
Wandering down the street I wonder
If anyone will dare to walk with me.
Will dare to see the way I do.
Step after step I glimpse
The corner of people’s eyes,
Afraid to turn around
Then a little girl drops
Her book.
Stooping down I pick it up
In that moment she
Looks me in the eye
And her frown changes to a smirk,
Then to a grin, then to a giggle.
Suddenly the laughter is filling
The street and others are slowly
Taking notice, some are even
Pulling out their earphones.
As quickly as it began the laughter
Faded and most continued on their way without
A backward glance.
But the difference was now
As I continued on the path,
She started following,
Book held under her arm
Eyes up and focused on me.
Then when we reached the next
Struggler she knelt down beside him
Picked up the broken pieces
And handed them back to him
When she arose she spun around looking for me.
After a second when she couldn’t see me she linked arms
With him and continued on to the next,
Humming as they went.
Little did they know I was still walking with
Them the whole time,
Holding their hands.
POET: Jharne Duke