From One Casualty to Another

I am not blind,

For I see you clear as day

As you wander around this party

Like a lost soul.

And no matter how hard you try to hide,

I still see you.

The way your quivering smile falls

just as quickly as you put it on,

The way your eyes fade

Like burnt lightbulbs whenever you’re alone,

And even the slight tremor in your hands

When you say you’re okay.

You’re never okay.

I even see the cracks on your face from all the times

worry lines consumed your brows,

The way you pull down your sleeves

To hide the cuts under there,

And the way your breathing slightly grows rapid

when you think no one notices.

Well, I notice.

For I’ve been through it all before

Which is why I see you.

ALL of you

And not just the parts you let show.

Because you and I

Are one and the same.