The Watcher
See evil
Some things should not be seen
only to look away
My eyes are on the screen
.
Children wail and neighbors scream
watching loved ones dragged away
Some things should not be seen
.
Walled-in nameless die unseen
while the careless plot and play
My eyes are on the screen
.
Hold your phone up to the scene
Capture, caption, and replay
Some things must be seen
.
Inattention is obscene
Bring the darkness into day
My eyes are on the screen
.
Please, watchers, intervene!
Someone somehow should pay
Some things can't be unseen
My eyes are on the screen
....
ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ
A/N: This folk song (on an album belonging to my hippie parents) haunted me as a child. "Look outside the window, there's a woman being grabbed ..." My mind churned with an anxious descant: "What could I do if I saw something bad happening to a stranger? What would I do?"
I'm still struggling with that question.
Phil Ochs - Outside of a Small Circle of Friends (1967)
And -- deep appreciation to all those who are casting light on injustice, through their cellphone screens, written words, and personal witness.
About the Creator
Sonia Heidi Unruh
I love: my husband and children; all who claim me as family or friend; the first bite of chocolate; the last blue before sunset; solving puzzles; stroking cats; finding myself by writing; losing myself in reading; the Creator who is love.
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Day 4 of Quitting
If this is how sobriety feels, maybe it’s better to go through life a little buzzed… this, along with other hits like, I want to kill myself, I wish I was dead, and I’m going to throw myself off a bridge have been the only thoughts on rotation these past few days. I promise myself that if, in a month, I still feel like this (‘this’ meaning despondent, full of rage, and simultaneously numb) I can go back to smoking. Until mid-February though? Nicotine is off the table.
By sleepy drafts4 days ago in Longevity
Comments (8)
Do you think 2026 will be better. This is a great poem we really should be beyond this now. Ah well. Happy new year Heidi.
You’ve captured the modern paradox of witnessing suffering through screens with chilling clarity. The poem questions our roles as observers in a way that calls for accountability without ever slipping into lecture.
Boy should this be screamed for the people in the back! Great work, congratulations, Sonia
wow !
Brill villanelle, Sonia!
A villanelle as moral exhortation: no mean feat! We are all familiar with justifiable opposition to being watched by the state, but we ought to watch, record and protest when the state is acting in malevolent ways.
Achingly relevant. I resonate so deeply - thank you for raising your voice in this most crucial of moments, Sonia.
Powerful bit with eloquence and a musical feel that all good villanelles have. Well done on this one and I think it's a thing many people struggle with. I know I am the same.