The Challenged
There was a magic about him
to walk into a neighborhood bar
randomly, purposefully step up to strangers
shake their hands without saying a word
move on to the next, and the next, and then leave
Daily, his routine was celebrated
as was his name, Sedric
bespectacled, near bald
always wearing crisp clean khakis
solid-colored, short-sleeved shirts and patterned neckwear.
When he did speak
the words seem to stab
like they were interrupting
some inner voice already in conversation
like a waitress jabs, “Anything else?”
What Sedric wore brightest
was a smile of accomplishment
perhaps a set number of hands impacted
or a circuit finished, like a marathoner's last mile
like a pen happily returning to its plastic pocket protector
On the grayer days
he would drag his necktie
like some unholy umbrella
confessing to the sidewalk
how long the hours were
Everywhere we live
there is a Sedric shaking hands
whom we see in a foretelling mirror
beyond the taint of laughter
whispering, "There, but for the grace..."
Aaron Williams
@2023 by Arts by the People for inclusion in their Moving Words collaborative film project
Note: Over a nine-year span, this poem was submitted more than 200 times to a variety of literary journals worldwide. I always believed in the piece. It was only when accepted by ARTS by the People did I realize the deep imagery of the work and how it could indeed inspire a film. The film aired November, 2023.
