I see you

The pain you try to hide

The way you shift to avoid contact

The loose cloths as a disguise

The way you smile and laugh

But it never reaches your eyes

I see you

Trying to appear timid

Your voice a whisper in the ether

Like a breeze that brushes your ear

I see you

Protecting those dear with ferocity

A lioness with claws and fangs

Fighting for those who cannot

I see you

Draping arms across your shoulders

To lift those who cannot stand

But do they not see

How the extra weight bloodies raw skin

Pressed and pinched into your own crutches

I see you

And all the good you do

I just hope at the end of the day

After you scrub the filth away

There is a shoulder waiting for you

To lean on or cry into.