Image Source - Google
The following poem was inspired by the above quote by Patrick Rothfuss. When a person decides to ignore people who are being mean to him, it doesn't mean he isn't affected. One day, it's going to get too much for him. And when it spills over, it ain't pretty.
Every day
He walks
To the beach
Just to watch
The tide come and go
With his mismatched socks
And bushy beard
His passing always
Attracts attention
Everyone thinks he's odd
They never say it
To his face
Instead
They show him
How they feel
The boys throw stones at him
He smiles and keeps walking
The girls give him odd looks
He smiles and keeps walking
The men are openly hostile
He smiles and keeps walking
The women turn up their noses
He smiles and keeps walking
He takes it all in
He never strikes back
He knows people are threatened
By what they do not comprehend
He just keeps smiling
A toothy grin
And then he whistles
A merry tune
His eyes twinkle
I stand at the window
And watch him pass
Every day
One day
His eyes did not twinkle
Their depths were stormy
And there was no grin at all
His voice was thunderous
And his stride was long
On that day
I did not watch
I closed the window
Huddled in the corner
Image Source Shy Bladder HQ
And refused to hear
The following day
He passed by
He was grinning
He was whistling
The boys did not throw stones
The girls looked away
The men hurried along
And the women
They shrunk away.