everyone

 

we are all going through
this together

whether dog paddling,
doing a dead man's float,
or looking for a life preserver
before going down for the
third time

no one is immune

no one is unscathed

there are cuts, bruises,
broken bones of the
heart and the human
spirit

no one escapes life
without living

so the next time you
are standing in line
at the grocery store

or waiting at a bus
stop on a freezing
January morning

take a second

look around you

and you will see it

everyone has been
beat up

everyone has been
put down in their
own way

and when that old
tired waitress is
slow in talking
your order

or your lover yells
at you for nothing

or a thousand other
little "slights"

remember...

everyone is carrying
their wounds

just like you

just like
me