The Challenged

 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.