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– My Blind Neighbor –
You feel the need to console me
Because my eyes do not paint an image that I can see inside my mind
You wonder if there is anything I need, that you might find
I cannot see
But I am not blind
I hear you scold a child until she cries
Shouting, ‘Your footsteps will make my flowers die!’
As she walks through your tulips for a ball, now left behind
You could have tried to be kind
I cannot see
But I am not blind
An old man shuffles by slowly
His body weary as he tries to keep moving on, painfully
He asks if you might have spare change, perhaps a dime
You could have tried to be kind
I cannot see
But I am not blind
While your eyes can see the world around
Your other senses have yet to be found
Compassion, Love and Sympathy
Develop a feeling of Empathy
Expand your narrow focus through judging eyes
Your eyes can see, yet still you’re blind
Open up your mind
You’ll be surprised at what you find
brian @
empath
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This poem was previously published in the poet-author’s book Empathy Globally: Painful Portraits of People – In Poetry and is republished here with his permission.
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Photo credit: Flickr/Ben Churchill