Observance
You never noticed
That you never saw him eat
In all the months you've known him.
You had no idea
Whether she shaved her legs
Because you never saw her in anything but sweats -
But you didn't notice that.
No, you were too self-absorbed,
Or maybe not aware enough.
You were too polite, too socially correct;
You never noticed.
He wore long sleeves every day,
Even on the hottest day of summer.
But you never noticed,
Because it was normal for him,
Just a thing that he did,
To run a 5k in a hoodie,
And when you ask him about it,
He'd say that he's just cold.
You never noticed, never made the connection,
That she said she just ate -
Never mind her stomach loudly crying -
And he said he's okay -
Although his eyes are clearly lying -
You only ever noticed too late, long after they were dying.
And even then you noticed it for just a little while:
Some grieving here, some sadness there,
Friends and family pretending to care -
But not having cared enough to notice.