Late Afternoon

I saw you walking down the street, 
late in the afternoon, 
head down, lost in thought, 
as if you were in a hurry but did not know exactly where you were going.

So many of us are the same, 
not looking where we are going, 
heads down, 
not noticing those who notice us, 
as the days go by again and again.

Lonely streets in mid winter, 
on windy days, 
when friends are hard to find, 
no one to make the way easier, 
especailly the voices in your own mind. 

All of us suffer, 
most of all, 
in the confines of our own minds, 
where the lonely echoes bounce off the cadence of heartbeats and those missed glances from those we want to notice us, 
but we miss their looks our way, 
becasue we were to busy walking with our heads down. 

T. S. Deary 
2/5/25