That is when you wonder

about the person on the other side

riding in public

they’re traveling in a world

unlike our own

yet, vastly different,

probably, more likely

we can ascertain only their look

their frame of mind

discreetly empathetic

to everyone around them

their world their own

not yours, not mine, not theirs

everyone together can somehow

realize, recognize, reconcile

and go public rather than rely upon

discreet empathy.