It Could Be You….

Remember the next time you laugh or take the piss

Stop and think and remember this

That stumbling old man may be seriously ill

Resting in that doorway or on that windowsill

Those shaking limbs or trembling  hand

Slurred speech, so hard to understand

Before you comment on how low can someone sink.

May not be from drugs or the demon drink

You cannot judge or criticize 

The look of pain in those haunted eyes

You do not know his sad story

His long tough journey or history.

Down the street as he lurches and reels

You do not know the pain he feels

The sorrow, the anguish, the phantoms of fear  

No one to talk to or to listen or care.

Pause for a moment and think before 

You open your mouth like a big barn door

And speak your thoughts out loud

Just to look clever in a crowd

Words once uttered, can rarely be retrieved 

And whether true or not, can often be believed.

Do not be so hasty to think as you do 

Because someday my friend, it could be you…

C Denis Murphy 18 July 2019.