She Sits Alone

I ran across a very distraught woman at Starbuck’s recently. This poem/song instantly came to mind:

She sits alone-

Disillusioned by the world around her

Trying to hide in the crowd

Alone

Oh so alone

She sleeps there in the chair

Trying to hide even deeper from the pain inside

The weather changes outside

With every passing change-

Rain, hail, snow, sleet, and sun

She rouses from her rest to look

Maybe the world has changed along with the weather

Maybe the pain will be gone when she leaves this place

The sun peers from the clouds once more and she does leave

But she leaves all of her belongings behind

Her coat, her pillow, her blanket, her backpack, and her plastic bag of nothingness

She crosses the dangerous river

She hides for a moment behind structure

Only to reemerge- unchanged

Only to return- to her chair

A man approaches her- he tries to help

He tries to pull her out- tries to save her from her living death

But she cowers in fear

All of her defenses arise

She is threatened by his voice

She is broken

What have they done to this woman

So fragile So broken

What does she do inside of her mind, inside of her pain

Where does she go when she escapes, when she hides

I wish I knew why

I wish I knew how

Don’t die, don’t die