To the office workers staying
until the sound of typing
is their only company
and the unemployed wondering
if they’ll ever have an office
of their own,
to the Skype callers with arms
that don’t reach the ones they love
and those who feel like a stranger
at family holidays,
to the only children
lonely in the house
and the fourth child
lonely in the crowd,
to the ones who made
big decisions too young
and the ones wondering
if they’ll ever have
a big decision to make,
to the people hiding
their thoughts behind distraction
and the people with inner dialogue
that controls them,
to those who’ve lost their faith,
and those who’ve found a way
to turn belief back toward love,
to the legs and throats
that won't let themselves
dance or sing without
half a liter of liquor,
to the people asking
if they’ll ever have
the body they want
and the people afraid
their good health will fail,
to the tourists disappointed
by exotic attractions
and the friends still
jealous of the photo,
to the ones embarrassed
by their public failures
and the ones self-conscious
about having found success,
to those who haven’t found
friends that give them space
to be their real self
and those with friends so close
they’ve lost their real self,
to the people who’d cry
if they were complimented
and the people who can’t
trust compliments anymore,
to the people who didn’t have a choice
in how their relationships ended,
and the people who had
to make those decisions,
to those wondering if the hurt
is permanent and whether they’ll ever
stop coping and start living,
to the old man eating
a cookie on the train,
to all of you—
I see you,
I love you,
and I’m proud of you
for making it this far.