the hurting place

the hurting place is the one where

I reached for you

And you reached for me

To soothe the self that hungered

And all we met

Was emptiness

But we are no longer children

Or even little ones

That can demand the world attune

To us

And today

As I look around

I see

The world is moving faster

People keep distance

And put on masks

To protect themselves

From the invisible poison

Become airborne

And there is nowhere just to sit

And rest awhile

Sometimes it makes me cry

And then I think

Its no wonder that

People collapse

Under the vast weight of the loneliness

That can open up

Within all of this social distance

This when I turn to nature

And to love

And encourage the hurting self

To let go

Of running over and over

The thoughts of what hurts

For sometimes we just long for touch

And bound up within that longing

Are all the memories of

Those hundreds of times

We reached out for

Love, comfort or understanding

Only to meet a blank wall

A empty stare

A lack of love concern

or care

That seemed to shatter us

While driving even deeper in

A sharp knife

To the wounds that bled