Mask of Sorrow

I walk down the road, there are many walking by, alone or in two's.

14 years of walking, cycling and running down the same road.

Many came, many left. Some stayed. 

I always move on, never have time to stop and stare, 

Always in a hurry, always on the go.

A wide smile, a loud, hurried hello and I go rushing by. 

The road remains the same, the people the same.

Now life as I know it has changed.

I have no place to go. Life in slow motion.

I walk by, there are no loud hellos, a far off wave and we are off.

Each one wary of the other.

Yet, the quick smile, now with the eyes.

Strange, but comfortingly familiar.

Each of us carrying our worries silently inside our heads, the outward smile on the face, now hidden behind layers of cloth.

Words are scarce, muffled, muted.  

Our pain is masked.

“The eyes are the mirror of the soul and reflect everything that seems to be hidden; and like a mirror, they also reflect the person looking into them- Paulo Coelho 

My pain and fear reflect in the eyes that smile at me. 

Sometimes I recognise the person, other times, the eyes meet and unite the soul.

Together we silently take a vow to fight this together.  

Now the window to our soul speaks louder than the words which flowed easily. 

The smile temporarily hiding the sorrow.

I read the below words recently and shared this as a reminder on what is normal now. 

"I wear a mask in public, not for me, but for YOU. 

I want you to know that I am educated enough to know that, although I have been very careful, I could be asymptomatic and still give you the virus. 

I don’t “live in fear” of the virus-- I just want to be a part of the solution, not the problem. 

I don’t feel the “government is controlling me”; I feel like I’m being a contributing adult to society and I want to teach children the same. 

I want them to grow up as I did knowing that the world doesn’t revolve around me... that it’s not all about me and my personal comfort...that if we all could live with the consideration of others in mind, this whole world would be a much better place.

Wearing a mask doesn’t make me weak, scared, stupid or even “controlled”; it makes me considerate. "