Your Touch

He passes hundreds of people as he walks down the street to work today. The rush of people hurrying off to work and school, off to play. Bumping in to each other, rushing by with their destinations in mind. The moments when a shoulder grazes another; when a brief case slides past a purse grasped tightly as not to be lost. People collide as they run for the train, the bus, as they slip into the elevator just as the doors are closing. The touch that goes unnoticed, without a care or thought.

A mother caresses her baby's cheek as he smiles back at her. He giggles an awkward muffled laugh begging for her attention. The mother tickles his chest and kisses his toes, the baby laughs again as he is brought into her arms. The warmth of her body envelopes him. The beat of her heart near his a comfort calming as he slowly drifts off to sleep. The touch of care and love, the touch of protection given attentively each day.

Hiding her face she hurries down the street, her hat pulled low on her head. Make-up applied as best as she could trying to hide the bruises she gained last night. They seem to be a single large abrasion these days, the smaller combining to form a black and blue pattern. She knew he would hit her again last night, as he stumbled through the door in a rage. The minutes seemed to pass like days as she fell to his mercies. Never again, she had said, never will he beat me. "Isn't that what you said last time," her best friend and pleaded that morning. The outraged and resentful contusions too great to hide, the pain inside ever growing.

What touch have you given today? What impact have you left? Unnoticed? Uncaring? Loving? Compassionate? Guiding? Unforgiving? Relentless? Angry? Your touch will last a lifetime...