They Work Beside You

They Work beside you….
Stand next to you in the grocery line….
Sit next to you at a restaurant….
Laugh with you at parties…
Pray with you at church….
They are your neighbors…
They are your friends….
Sometimes, they might be family…..

All these things you notice about them ……

It’s the things you don’t notice……

The smile that does not reach their eyes…
The eyes that do not smile…
The light that has gone from within….
The body that breathes, but the Spirit thats bound and imprisoned….
The ache that feeds their heart….
The desperation for it all to end….

They won’t look you in the eye when they speak….
They will never make plans with friends….
Have no outside interests or pursuits….
Cringe at loud noises….
Startle and scare easy….
Crumble at tense situation.s….

You might wonder who I speak of…..
You might recognize these attributes in someone you know…
You just might recognize the mirror I hold in front of your face….

But know this…

the bruises aren’t always visible….
The damage not always apparent….

They have learned to lie….
They have learned to survive…
Most of all ….
They learned to only cry Inside…..