Judge me not

I saw
Before I looked
Heard
Before I listened
Reached my verdict
Before the trial

Decided that
Your laugh was too loud
Your words were too much
Everything about you was wrong
An insult
To my decorum

I never thought
To peer around my self righteousness
Never knew
The horror that would greet
Eyes reborn, finally looking
Able to see clearly now

The pain choking behind your laugh
Climbing decibels
Drowning the whispers of your demons
Ever waiting
For you to abandon your right to joy,
To lose the fight

But it is not over
Even though everything ended for you.
Your heavy emptiness, concealed
Behind a veil of words
The reassuring sound of your voice, proof
That you still live

Struggling everyday
To elevate your laughter
Above the mutterings of people, like me
Who choose to join the chorus of your demons
Your unrelenting spirit
The hallmark of the undefeated.