GREETING THE SOLITARIAN

I checked in,
The man behind the desk,
Welcomed me by my name,
I cheerfully said, “Hi!” back.

She walks by,
With the hush of her walk,
Not even a hello,
To those she passed by.

Not even,
An acknowledgement or
A nod of her head nor
A wave of her aged hands.

I asked once,
Perhaps twice or once more,
Of the man at the desk,
“Does she always do that?” 

He just smirked,
Then replied politely,
“She checks in and walks on.”
Affirming her routine. 

“I greet her.”
Knowing he can’t say more,
In fear of what she may say,
Or possibly return.

Then one day,
We crossed paths once again,
With all sincerity,
I looked up and spoke. 

“Good morning!”
Without looking at me,
She checked in and moved on,
But I was determined. 

I chanced it,
I purposely showed up,
Just before she arrived,
Hoping to say, “Hello!” 

I smiled,
Gently approached and said,
“Good morning, how are you?”
I thought I saw a nod. 

I tried again,
Over the next few days,
Each time I caught a glimpse,
Of her returning stare. 

By month’s end,
Perhaps even before,
She stopped and shared a grin,
Before proceeding in. 

Over time,
Her grin grew much larger,
To my very surprise,
It stretched from ear to ear.

I wasn’t done,
For the next week or so,
Every morning we met,
Same place at the same time. 

To my shock,
After we exchanged looks, 
I thought I heard her voice,
Faintly, not quite a whisper. 

It was her,
Her face now brightened up,
Reciprocating words,
“Good morning to you too.” 

From that day,
I pushed a bit harder,
A few more words exchanged,
Soon a conversation. 

It started,
With just a warm smile,
I unlocked her gentle soul,
Finding her new rhythm. 

A solitarian,
When her life fell apart,
By choice to avoid pain,
She became socially absent. 

Eventually,
With a spring in her step,
The quiet steps stopped,
To embrace a greeting.

She found joy,
Her expression softened, 
With her voice to be heard,
Took a moment to chat.

In return,
I gifted her friendship,
She told of her life’s tales,
Begging to just be heard. 

Candidly,
This social introvert,
Opened up and shared too,
Bits and pieces of my life.

My simple, warm greeting,
Opened a quiet door,
Turning yesterday’s frown,
Into today’s smile.