There are times
There are times
When I fall into an abyss
Of introspection.
The wonder is nobody knows,
Maybe they do
What of it?
Sometimes the worst
Of things can stand before us
Undetected.
How would we know
The suicide from the murderer
The philanderer
The rapist,
The paedophile
Surely would stand out.
We would know
Would we, though?
Do the worst of us
Smell bad?
There are no beacons
Facial features
Telltale signs,
No hair or eye colour
No giveaway,
Life is not a screenplay.
Is it a feeling
An unsettling
Dyspepsia, a reflux
As the body gives a warning.
Do they eat alone
As part of a group
Hunt in packs
Live largely undetected
Without bringing attention
To themselves.
Do we turn our backs?
Look the other way
Misread the signs
Look for the quiet life
And find only pain.
What do I know
I’ve done it again
Drifted off
Into another timeline.
Where people wear
Their hearts on their sleeves
And everybody knows
What everybody knows.
Gosh, now I think about it
That would be awful.
No privacy
No secrets
No inner self.