It was only brief,
The moment of our connection.
But in that breath,
I felt what I had never known.

He looked at me,
Broken and senseless,
And taught me a truth
That no man should ever learn.

Separated by just a window,
We lived two worlds apart.
But in that distance,
We met in the middle.

I'd known him forever,
In only a second.
I'd felt his heartache,
Through a timeless touch.

The winds of life
Had weathered his eyes
And his hardened nails
Carried dirt and memories.

I could not make out
The story in his soul,
For my eyes were drowning,
pulled underwater.

But that was not necessary
His pain was made clear.
Magnificent storyteller,
How he shared without fear.