Laden

Posted on November 26, 2008 by bipolarlawyercook| 8 Comments

I wish that lady
with no bags dan­gling
at the end of her arms
would get
out of my way.
Can’t she see I’m
laden with burdens?

Brief­case and lunch­bag and purse,
a suitcase’s work from the week­end?
I won’t be able
to get where I’m going
if I drop every­thing
because she’s in front of me,
slow­ing me down.

If she
would just
look over her shoul­der,
then she would see that
she’s got to move to the side.

As I pass her,
I shoot a look
over my shoul­der
at her face,
dis­be­liev­ing that some­one
so unladen
could be mov­ing
so slowly.

But her face is car­ven,
etched deep by
some unspo­ken grief
her smile smoth­ered
by some invis­i­ble
weight.
She’s laden, too.

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8 Responses to Laden

  1. g | November 26, 2008 at 10:21 am |

    What a great poem. A moment where one shifts from self to empa­thy. You han­dle the epiphany well.

    gs last blog post..South­ern Cal­i­for­nia Storm Watch

  2. Professor J | November 26, 2008 at 12:01 pm |

    Lovely. And sad.

    Pro­fes­sor Js last blog post..This made me cry

  3. Irene | November 26, 2008 at 12:13 pm |

    The next time you’re held up say, “Par­don me, may I pass, please?” Then you will still see her grief struck face and feel bad about that, but at least you gave it a try. It’s not for us to fig­ure out all the hurt that’s car­ried around by strangers dur­ing these stress filled hol­i­days. Con­sumerism cre­ates the con­di­tions, cour­tesy human­izes us. Even her.

    Irenes last blog post..To the vet again…

  4. Mariposa | November 26, 2008 at 12:38 pm |

    Beautiful…and sad.

    And I have to reflect on this…in many ways.

    Mari­posas last blog post..

  6. Allison | November 26, 2008 at 1:48 pm |

    Won­der­fully thought-provoking…and very timely. You have a way with words and realizations…

    Allisons last blog post..‘Tis the season

  7. rosie | November 26, 2008 at 4:21 pm |

    oooh lovely… and sat­is­fy­ing in shape as a poem, with just that one tear that rolled down my cheek as I imag­ined those bur­dens and identified…

    rosies last blog post..Car wars

  8. Al | November 28, 2008 at 3:27 pm |

    This poem is truly beau­ti­ful. It reminds me to stop and think at least twice before get­ting irri­tated with oth­ers. Espe­cially in this sea­son of fam­ily and friends, I must remem­ber that there are those who have nei­ther and their lives may not be look­ing up…

    Thank you.

    Als last blog post..go vegan, save a turkey

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