I noticed something yesterday,
A bruise just below your brow.
As I looked you turned away,
Before I questioned how.
It was only two weeks before
I’d seen your swollen lip
You talked about a cold sore
Then dismissed it with a quip.
At work decorum promotes a distance
Allowing space for our privacy.
We hide bits of our existence
Behind walls of secrecy.
Should I have been more probing?
Should I have questioned more?
Maybe it was part of me hoping
You had nothing to cover for.
Tomorrow when our workday starts
Will I notice an empty space?
In a world filled with graphs and charts
What’s missing is a human face.
Wonderful write Clarence. As a person who has undergone abuse in the past I can say that every colleague should question such signs. The person might not like it in the beginning but ultimately it pays off and who knows, you might have just saved a life
I agree, to be human is to notice and to offer support.
Sometimes it is difficult to be human -we worry, we don’t want to intrude, we think it is not our business. Caring for others should always be our business.
Very touching poem! 😉 <3
Peace,
Sherrie
Sherrie Miranda's historically based, coming of age, Adventure novel “Secrets & Lies in El Salvador” is about an American girl in war-torn El Salvador:
http://tinyurl.com/klxbt4y
Her husband made a video for her novel. He wrote the song too:
Poignant and powerful.
As R. Todd writes: poignant and powerful.