The Invisibility Myth

Today you look no different.
No one sees the fear,
the darkness that has crawled inside
like a cancer. No one sees
the darkness that threatens
your every morning.

The casualties are invisible
because you hide them under the rug,
in the attic, anywhere
you think no one will see.

Ah, but they do see.
Nowhere near as blind as you imagine them to be,
they see far more than you understand,
and love far more than you would believe.

About this poem

I moved to Vermont a couple of years after my separation and divorce. I thought I had held things together pretty well, all things considered before I moved up here. But after I had been here just a few months, and went back to Virginia to visit, everyone, and I mean practically everyone, told me how much better I looked. They were so effusive that I realized I hadn’t held it together well at all.

So much for hiding the pain. People see it. People know. And they love you, broken and all. They may not know what to do for you, but they love.you. What a grace! And what freedom there is in that!

But only if we believe it.

Tom

PS – the flowers are from a friend of mine and fellow poet, Kate Rantilla who saw, and brought them to me to brighten my day. They have been on my dining room table for 2 weeks.