Until I Saw Poem by Sumaya Aijaz

It struck me when he wrote,
I cried for shoes beneath my feet,
Until I saw a man with none.

I too,
I too wept for coins I could not keep,
Until I saw one begging for some.
I mourned the beauty I felt I lacked,
Until I saw a face unseen.
I cursed the paths that life had blocked,
Until I saw what loss could mean.
I longed for hands carved like marble,
Until I saw a man praying for them.
I cried for ears that longed to listen,
Until I saw a man who heard no sound at all.
I wished my voice could charm the world,
Until I saw a man with none.
I cried because I couldn't travel,
Until I saw a man confined to bed.
I cursed the burden that I bore,
Until I saw a heavier mind.
I feared the storms that shook my days,
Until I saw a man drown in theirs.
I cried for one more seconds time,
Until I saw a man whose time was gone.
And still I complained of what I lacked,
Of dreams that seemed far away-
Until I saw a man beneath the earth,
Who had no tomorrow left to say.
But, then I stopped and looked around,
At all the things that felt too small.
For what I felt I lacked in life,
Were blessings I had failed to call.
Perhaps we never count our gifts,
Until we see what others lose
And what we call a burden today,
May be the life another would choose.