I had a little cry today,
I shed a tear or two,
Though what about I cannot say...
I was just feeling blue.

They are mostly elderly, frail, ghostly pale, lying there in their beds, comatose. Drugged out of their heads on painkilling meds, rarely with their mouths closed, though many with their teeth close. Tubes in their nose or oxygen masks for those for whom breathing has become too much of a task, I suppose. Totally oblivious to all those of us who have chosen to visit, just to be close. Lost in a world of their own, fighting battles unknown to most of us.

Much harder than your own pain to bear
Is the pain of one for whom you care,
Their pain for yourself you would welcome
If it would ease their suffering some.

Let not flattery, praise beguile
Lest you become another's foil!

Despite all you meant to me
We were just not meant to be;
My priority was you
But I was not yours I knew...

What they see is my public face;
What I want them to see only.
Much more lies below the surface
Known only to those dear to me.
The real me, if they look closely,
Lies hidden in my poetry.

Who thinks they are perfect
Have one major defect;
Assuming one can be,
Themselves especially!