I was canvassing a neighborhood one day, when this woman answered the door. It's not her real name, and I can only imagine her story ... but this is my take on it.
Sarah's Song
Pain has many dimensions,
I know them all.
The worst, I think,
is the pain of loneliness.
Behind heavy drapes,
I live in a world of semi-darkness.
My greatest fear is that
someone will knock on the door.
A stranger's reaction to seeing me
twists knife-like in my belly.
Then I wish the fire
had finished the job.
I feel like a caged animal,
with my TV as the only window.
I never look in the mirror anymore,
but I often wonder
what my soul looks like.
Is it twisted with my terror
of being seen?
Is it changed by the pain
of seeing children's faces
upon a single glimpse
of my flame-ravaged flesh?
Sometimes, late at night,
I slip out the back door --
just for a few minutes --
just to feel the wind in my hair,
the night's cool hand
against my skin.
I jump at every sound,
terrified of being discovered --
outside.
Now, I've discovered the internet:
a place where people can be seen
for what they are,
not for how they look.
I can be me!
What wild freedom this brings,
it gives wings to my soul.
Watch me fly.
Watch me heal!
Disfigurement is often misread by well-meaning people, but its emotional scars run deep. You captured that angst, as well as the opening an old equalizer like the Internet can be.
Sadness in these lines - and yet, freedom, too - powerfully penned poignancy. Would that we didn't have to hide, would that people would accept us as we are - speaks shamefully of us as a society, doesn't it?
Deeply compassionate, Dallas. Your poem is very meaningful and moving. Thank you. Love and peace,
Regis
Reviewed by Peter Schlosser (Reader)
Reviewed on July 9, 2009
The tragedy is there are so many who live in tortured isolation like this. I've felt like this for periods in my own life. Tis a wretched existence. Thanks for shedding light on this.
Using Calgary as a backdrop the author satirizes the self-serving nature of the public as it continues to fatten itself, not only physically, but egotistically as well.
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Ron
EDWIN
(((HUGS))) and love, Karla. :(
Regis