People Watching

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People Watching

They walk along the pavement
Some short, some tall
Some thin, some fat
Some inbetween
Old, young, middle aged
Boys, girls, women, men
Blond, brunette, ginger, grey
Quickly, slowly,
Energised, weary
Rushing, dawdling
Stopping, starting
Chatting, in silence
Together, separately
And yet ….
Not one smiles
Why is that?

Mary

Oh raggedy old woman with
Your weak and toothless smile
With folded skin and greying locks
Has life been such a trial?

Your groans, your protestations and
Your yells and grumpy do
Your shouting out so very loud
Disguising the real you

I wonder who you really are
Beneath your upset veil
What person did you used to be
Before you got so frail

Dressed in confusion’s linen and
Dementia’s shrouding cloak
What have those eyes seen in the past
What stories have you spoke

What person did you used to be
Before the clutch of age
Took hold with mask eclipsing
The oak’s sagacious page

And what conflicts have you witnessed
Throughout your long long years
The battles, wars and struggles that
Still steel your heart and tears

The loves that came and loves that went
The jobs you did so well
I wonder what great yarns you have
What history you can tell

For through the windows of your eyes
Your sweeter soul’s laid bare
I wonder raggedy old maid
Why no-one seems to care?

People Watching

When I was young, my mother said
“Don’t stare at folk – it’s rude”
“Don’t gawp and glare or even gaze”
Just sit and eat your food

But nowadays in the restaurants
And cafes or elsewhere
It seems that observation is
Acceptable and fair

To sit and see how other folk
Behave and what they do
Yes people watching is okay
No-more a big taboo

To perceive and to then survey
To reflect on a life
To watch with interest and take in
Is now considered rife

For in a café or on-line
We look and recognize
The people who surround us all
We’re ‘people watching’ spies!