it’s rude to stare

He was the silent one

On the south end of the room near the door

He watched everyone

His eyes sometimes shifting outside

“He almost looks lost”

In a crowded room he’s in the background

Fading deep into the sea of idle conversations

And animated laughter that echoes

“He looks uninterested with any of it”

He barely smiles

Neither does he even talk

Yet he’s polite

“Who is he?”

I wouldn’t know

I only noticed him now

And no one seems to bother

“And he seemed to enjoy the isolation.”

The empty conversations filled with silence

Only the sounds of our breathing

He doesn’t seemed disturbed by any of it

Then he said

“You can stop staring…”