All I Can Do Is Watch

It’s hard to admit
That most people seem like objects.
In fact, I own many objects that provoke
A whole lot more emotion in me
Than most people.
They seem like a chair, a tire, a crate
Things whose presence or absence
Has no bearing on anything.
They can stay, they can go
It’s really all the same.

Only the ones who are still alive to themselves
Seem alive to me, seem human.
Their fire is their humanity
And they burn brightly.
The rest are dead men walking
The rank and file at the end of the line
And all I can do is watch.