You are not there to weep.
You are there because they are weeping.
And the world must know.
You are not there to show us how you care.
You are there to show how they care.
So the world can care too.
You will not be thanked.
You will not be loved.
Not even by yourself.
The words you did not say,
the tears you did not shed,
will come back to you
years afterwards, when no-one will remember
and no-one understands
that ink can bring enlightenment
but always stains the hand.
~This poem appeared as part of Poem of the Week in The Guardian, 9 September 2024
