37 - The Ones Who Watch Life Pass

Every day, I watch people live. 

They work hard, 

play hard. 

They save for holidays, 

gather with friends, 

celebrate the small joys that stitch a life together.

I watch them from behind the counter. 

Not as a participant, 

but as a witness. 

I wanted to leave this place long ago. 

But I wasn’t allowed. 

I was made to stay.

Not asked. 

Not invited. 

Made.

Held in place by invisible hands

circumstance, 

duty, 

fear. 

Not allowed to live fully, 

but not permitted to leave either. 

Just here. 

Just watching.

There’s a cruelty in being kept alive 

but not allowed to live. 

To be close enough to joy to see it, 

but too far to feel it. 

To be present, 

but not part of it.

We are the ones assigned to the margins.

Not by choice, 

but by design. 

We are the quiet observers, 

the ones who refill cups 

while others raise theirs in celebration.

We are not part of the story. 

We are the backdrop. 

The ones who were told to stay 

and watch life pass by 

without ever being allowed to step into it 

We’re just placed in the audience. 

Made to observe. 

To watch the play of life 

as it passes us by.