Meeting Shadows

I wrote this one when me and a few friends decided to visit orphanages, old age homes and homes for the desolate and dying, to try and spread a little festive cheer. It was one of those experiences which makes sure you keep your feet on the ground, one which shows you how stupid your own little problems are before the ones which these people go through everyday.

Night had started to overpower the day, the light was losing its sheen,

I got out of the car and stretched my legs, where a guitar had lain in between.

We’d all traversed a fair few miles, covering everything from far and near,

Singing in orphanages, old age homes, spreading some good old Christmas cheer.

Guitar strings tweaked a final time, a few coughed to keep voices steady,

A few minutes later everyone was convinced, that the final act was ready.

Hushed whispers went up a few notches, as guitar strums broke the calm,

I could see heads turn at the window, some of them were visibly alarmed.

We stepped into a narrow corridor, what I saw shattered my heart to pieces.

I saw people like you and me, rendered desolate by different diseases.

Faces destroyed beyond recognition... Still beautiful in a terrible way,

Desperate souls lay all around, waiting for the dawn of a different day.

Eyes blinded by fate and faith alike, bodies physically punctured at so many points,

Some were unable to move their limbs, made utterly lifeless by failing joints.

For the very first time in my whole life, I felt so many eyes upon me resting,

I saw half of the audience expecting rare joy, half of them looked at me detesting.

How could an 18 year old boy like me, understand the devilish schemes that hampered,

Each one of those people everyday, when I in comparison was so heavily pampered?

We kept on going right down the middle, the centre of attention of a sea of gazing,

Being one who was never expected to perform, the impetus that I felt was amazing.

Blank expressions and beaming faces greeted me, as I folded my hands and smiled,

Hoping to bring the happiness, with which, they’d struggled an eternity to reconcile.

I tried to keep up the cheerful demeanour, as we continued walking to the other part,

But I sensed with every step that I took, something inside me was breaking apart.

Harsh reality was staring straight at my face, then how could I just let it be?

When I know the man on one of those benches, in another life could’ve been me?

Shocked and humbled we all had agreed, that the world had nothing worse to show,

Then we saw more faces and I slowed down...this was somewhere I didn’t want to go.

I’d seen enough of life’s forgotten books, now I couldn’t bring myself to turn a page,

The scene in front was one I’d seen before, just this time they were younger in age.

The childlike innocence was undiminished, their eyes shone so bright and eager,

Even when all that the world could offer, was way below the definition of meagre.

But as the first notes of music touched the air, for a moment they forgot their pain.

The pure ecstasy so clear in their laughs, like a little girl caught in the years first rains

They danced without a care in the world, free from all that held them shackled,

Forgetting the past’s infinite horrors, the future’s unknowns yet to be tackled

I struggled to hold my emotions back, a barrage of tears was blurring my vision,

I knew if I ever wrote a poem on this, all my other work would pale in comparison.

To me all of them were absolute legends, the finest proponents of teaching,

Of how to live and lead by example, to inspire even without even preaching.