Invisible

Invisible

He wrote,
As if invisible.

Not hard to imagine.

The way others treat me,
I am that way every day.

They talk,
Around me,
Behind me,
In front of me,
But,
Not to me,
Certainly not,
With me,
And,
Sadly,
(Since I over hear their words).
Not, even, about me,
I am invisible.

I hold the door,
Smile,
Say,
“Good morning.”

They pass through the door,
But,
They do not hear;
They do not respond;
I am invisible.

Their computer misbehaves,
I over hear,
“This thing needs service.”

I step in,
It is my job,
I make repairs,
(Usually a result of user errors).

They sit down,
Return to work,
As if the minutes past,
Were leap-frogged,
No problem occurred,
And,
Since, no problem occurred,
No repair needed/made,
I am invisible.

Standing at the receptionist desk,
When a visitor arrives,
They ask an aide,
To show them,
To the Tech. Office,
Because,
I am invisible.

In the lunch line,
I smile,
And say,
“Hello.”

They hand me my lunch,
They say nothing,
They do not see my smile,
They turn away,
To help the next person,
I eat at a table alone,
Because when I sit at a table with others,
They treat me as if,
I am invisible.

In the meeting,
After lunch,
There is no chair for me,
I get one from a nearby office,
And sit at the end of the table,
The agenda is followed,
Everyone,
In their turn,
Reports,
They skip me,
I am invisible.

I offer my hand,
To help them up,
When they slip on the ice.

They roll onto their side,
Then on to hands and knees,
Struggle to their feet,
Brush themselves off,
Turn and limp away,
Is if I am not there.
With my hand extended,
I am invisible.

When the coffee runs out,
I put a new brew pot on;
When it is filled,
They drink it,
As if it were magically there,
Since,
I am invisible.

Today,
My paycheck,
Was in the wrong mailbox;
Even my mailbox,
Is invisible.

I am an old man,
20 pounds over weight,
No longer straight and tall.

After 14 years,
When I retire,
Will they remember,
I was ever here?

To the beautiful,
Young people,
I work with,
I am invisible.