Flashing Lights

The rain came down in sheets, so heavy
that the cars no longer sped but crawled,
emergency lights flashing "Look at me!"
People sometimes do that too, though
we cannot see the rainstorms they are in
within their atmospheres, the darkness
of the clouds surrounding who they really
are. We only see the desperation in their eyes,
flamboyance of an affectation or an outfit,
bizarre behavior, smacking gum
or speaking loudly, all the ways they call
attention to themselves. How can we know
if their respective lights are flashing, calling
us like moths to pay attention, or perhaps
prevent our nearness altogether, launch
a strike preemptively, avoid colliding,
keep us back, protect us from themselves?
Or is it they who feel the need to shield
their fragile souls from us, afraid we
will not ever understand the storms
in which they live?


(c) Ellen Gillette, 2014