The face that says it all

The face that says it all

He has the look of a troubled man, a guise that haunts his soul,
immersed in memories of a war, that seized a mighty toll.
As he sits and watches people pass, he never says a word,
sometimes he weeps for comrades lost, but his voice is never heard.

Many think him brave and strong, yet they never check to see,
instead, they pass the sitting man, just another amputee.
Come rain or shine he’s always there, living life on borrowed time,
the sentence life has handed him, awarded for no crime.

Yet, we value the sacrifice he’s made, the battle scars he shows,
but do we see the man that’s left, and how his story goes?
Can we change his destiny, then help him from brink,
perhaps we have far more to give then any of us think.

Who knows what horrors he’s endured, or the demons from his past,
a veteran in a damaged world, redundant and outcast.
So, when you see this man again, just smile to show you care,
don’t pass him by without a glance as though he’s never there.

ⓒ Teresa Harrison-Best

November 2023