A face in the common

A face in the common crowd,

No name or fame to make them stand out.

Blue eyes, or brown, or gray or green;

Not smart, not dumb, just in between.

Or maybe they’re as sharp as a tack,

Straight A’s, blonde braid swishing down their back;

Their hand shoots up once a questions asked,

They answer always like it’s their last.

Perhaps they’re your friend, or his, or hers;

So many people, their faces blurred.

Is it someone you know, or someone you forgot.

You can’t tell, they’re not marked with a dot.

It could be your coach, or your teacher too;

A colleague, or bestie that you outgrew,

Red hair, dark skin, or a shirt of blue,

Gloved hands, long hair, or mismatched shoes.

Did you realize the danger before It's too late?

Did you do what you could to prevent their fate?

When they walked by did you bother to say hello?

Or did you catch on a little too slow.

Was it, ‘something you couldn’t stop or prevent?’

Had it been stuck in time or in cement?

Did you know that all they wanted or needed;

Before they decided to be deleted,

Was a friendly smile, or pat on the back?

That they didn’t require their name on a plaque;

But that all they wanted was someone who cared;

Someone who could tell them what had to be shared.

About how they affected most everyone,

And how their life had just begun.

And how people would miss seeing them smile,

And how, though life seems versatile;

They are loved, and treasured, and needed too,

And how, if what was done could be undo;

Everyone would help and love and care,

Because what was really needed there;

Was for someone to show them that they would be missed,

That people would all yearn for their gifts;

That the world wasn’t shards or tatters,

That maybe, just maybe, they're able to matter.