I am just an outsider

I have no understanding of the turmoil

existing in the mind of those who

have been told there is something

unforgiving and indiscriminate in their

body wanting to kill them

Yes, we all face the possibility of death

every day but for most of us it is a

shadow far off in the distance

unseen and ignored

It is not for others

Death infiltrates their thoughts in

conversations, contemplation, sleep

I have shared their anger, screamed with them,

cursed with them, cried with them, prayed with them, but

I am just an outsider.

I am helpless at times when they feel hopeless

bombarded with foreign words and battered

by deadly chemicals and ray guns

Sometimes you see their eyes look into yours for

decisions but you cannot provide them with one

because you are an observer and they realize the decision

is theirs to make. All you can do is offer a hand of compassion.

Faith is a door

We walk through it willingly or not at all

If we walk through it,

We are not assured of a pain free existence

Just a life which has meaning

Even for an outsider.

John Doriot is an award-winning poet and author. He has won 6 Georgia Independent Author of the Year Awards from 2022-2024, of which two of those books were for collections of poetry. He has contributed short stories and poetry to Down in the Dirt, Dark Horses and WestWard Quarterly magazines.