The Suffering of Others
So close, your eyes touch them
your ears hear their pleadings
but your legs cannot approach
nor your arms extend
your words falling futile at your feet
so close, so close.
You turn your eyes away—still
they crowd your silences, your headphones
awaken you at midnight
to tell you their nightmares till morning.
You pray for them—trying to ease your own pain
by handing them off to God, fate, history—
They do not go away, cannot, will not. And you know
for their sake and yours you must not ease your pain
but grasp it, examine it for the truth it reveals,
and draw it close to your heart
so close you can touch them, so close you can
send shock waves of love to the core of all being.
Darrell Petska is a retired university engineering editor and two-time Pushcart Prize nominee. His poetry appears in Verse-Virtual, 3rd Wednesday Magazine, Midwest Zen, Soul-Lit, and widely elsewhere (conservancies.wordpress.com). Father of five and grandfather of seven, he lives near Madison, Wisconsin, with his wife of more than 50 years.
Amethyst Review 