She

She was there

In my arms.

I didn't know this woman

But she was dying

In my arms.

She begged me

To let her go

In my arms.

She was there

But barely

In my arms.

She wanted to be

With her father and not

In my arms.

With her friends

Who were scared as shit behind me

Feeling helpless

Like I once had.

She opened my eyes

To what life has come to

How unaware we are to

What cruelty we impose on ourselves and

On each other.

She opened my eyes

To the fact that

There are two types of people in the world:

The helpless and the helpful

And that we are all one or the other

At one point or another

In our lives.

She was there

In my arms

And to this day

I don't know whether or not

I really saved her.

She, as fragile and helpless as she seemed,

Gave me some sense of hope.

She, whether she knew or not,

Helped me to open up about

A past I didn't ever want to face.

Because the fact of the matter is:

I was almost she.