A Man

A man came out of a hospital.

His leg was in a cast

and he walked with the aid of crutches.

He felt sorry for himself.

Then he saw a young woman

who had to walk with a cane.

He felt more sorry for her

than he did himself.

-

A young woman was walking home from school.

She was recovering from spinal cord surgery

and had to walk with a cane.

She felt sorry for herself.

Then she saw a boy

who had to walk with two forearm crutches.

She felt more sorry for him

than she did herself.

-

A boy was walking home from a baseball game.

Ever since the car accident, he couldn’t play

because he had to walk with two forearm crutches.

He felt sorry for himself.

Then he saw a woman, with no legs at all

who had to use a wheelchair.

He felt more sorry for her

than he did for himself.

-

A woman was rolling to the hospital for a check-up.

Shrapnel had taken her legs in the war

so she was confined to a wheelchair.

She felt sorry for herself.

Then she saw a man in one of the rooms

who could not move at all.

She felt more sorry for him

than she did for herself.

-

A man was lying in bed, like he always did.

He had Multiple Sclerosis and was completely paralyzed

so he was stuck in a hospital bed.

He didn’t feel sorry for himself.

He looked out his window—

at all the people who had no time to think

no time to imagine

no time to explore the wonders of their own minds…

And he felt sorry for the world.