Off day

I can not handle
The death of your mother
Your brother's liver cancer
I can only listen
But not feel
Feeling means involvement
I don't have the energy for that
I give to charities, co-workers, customers
I feel nothing
No sense of accomplishment
Of helping others
Even though I know I help
Knowing is not enough
To bring happiness
I feel numbness in others
Walking in their mental fog
Just like me
Their wheels turning
Taking nothing in
But their own lives
Preparing for Halloween
Walking corpses
Hoping festivities
Connections
Will bring life back
Again and again.

Denis Streeter   10/9/12