Poem: This Man

Who are we, any of us, to the casual observer?

This Man He jumped back suddenly and left himself standing there Circled this man slowly, to take a look and see what others saw This man’s face, that in repose quiets small children, even when his mind is elsewhere and drifting in pleasantries The grin this man meant to show, and often felt, seldom broke the surface and he wanted somehow to explain And when this man before him reached to touch another tenderly and understand their heart, to share their pain with all the love he felt, it was strange to see how nearly that touch seemed to be a mere tugging at the sleeve and not at all what this man meant, at least from the look of it Standing back, one could hardly see his tenderness at all and he wanted somehow to explain And so he followed this man for a while, mirrored the purposeful stride of himself on the street, to see if he would stop this man, as a stranger might and ask directions, as if he himself were lost and searching among the faces of passersby for a glance that held He looked to others on the street and watched their eyes for clues to this man who was himself, but their eyes were closed off to him, elsewhere and he wanted somehow to explain

This poem is included in Jim Freeman's poetry collection CORNER OF MY MIND available here in print or as an e-Book in your favorite formats.