We Think We Know Them

An Original Poem on the Human Condition by Alan WalshDedicated to my bride and best friend – “Judy Blue Eyes”.

On they come through each new dayWe judge, sort, and file awayTheir fears & hopes we seldom seeToo caught up in our own dark seasTheir troubles we don’t need.

Loud folk fear the dawn of dayQuiets dream of better daysTender psyches hide their painLovers fear of parting waysAnd untouched we remain.

Predators despoil our livesPrey upon us with their liesOnce they’ve gone, in all our painWe swear we’ll never trust againNo inner spark remains.

Friendships start, then drift apartWe tell ourselves that we’re so smartTo wrap our hearts in hardened shellsWe think we’re doing well.

We wed and all is bliss untilOur imperfections start to spillBy endless pin-pricks do we bleedPride becomes our hardened creedWe snap like broken reeds.

Complexity’s the staff of lifeYet humans like things neat & tightWalls come up, defenses growPeople met we seldom knowWe blithely let them go.

First impressions drive our thoughtsSubtlety is largely lostWe simplify at heavy costAnd chances gained are lost.

But have some faith, despite yourselfTake your scarred heart off the shelfRemove it from its iron sheatheDust it off and let it breatheBecause you now have me.