There was too much noise,

There was too much noise,

The rattle of people talking

As rapidly as machine gun fire.

He struggled to stand upright

The temptation to dive into the bushes

Almost overwhelming.

He avoided crowds,

Covid was a godsend

Social distancing kept the world at bay.

The lights flickered in the hall

They were standing outside his building

Blocking his way,

A bunch of people having their say

About the little things.

Rubbish collection

The lack of attention to detail

In street cleaning,

When leaves were blown up and down

From one end to the other.

He would have to squeeze by,

Maybe even look one in the eye

To get to the door.

The fear of having to speak

To say hello

To act normally,

When everything about interacting

With virtual strangers,

Even neighbours of long-standing,

Was torture.

Perhaps he could stand in the shadows

Wait them out,

Until he heard one of them say his name.

He had been seen.

He was known

For being a loner,

He had heard them through his door.

It should be soundproof but wasn’t

They think he is stand-offish

When the reality is he is afraid

Of losing himself

In the flood.

Terrified of being destroyed

By a lack of invisibility.

The belief that he could go unseen

Was the only thing keeping him sane.

Intrusion into his private world

Was akin to an act of aggression.

The wounds of war, still too raw

Nobody knew what it was like,

To be afraid of exposure

When the pain of loss

Was just a sliver of thin skin,

Hiding the disruption

Beneath the surface.