The Voices Around Me

Sometimes it seems
I am not only me
But a sea
of faces
of voices
of lives
All trying to reach the surface
All gasping,
All reaching,
All trying for air,
Just a breath away,
Waiting at a moment's notice
To break free
and be truly alive,
Biding their time,
Waiting to arrive.
I become restless
as though I have a thousand feet
As though I've lived a million lives,
For haven't I?
Through the faces I've seen?
The things you've all told me?
Haven't I shared all your experiences?
My pen shakes in my hand,
such a weighty thing I'm entrusted with,
To tell your stories,
Accurately,
To capture the moments
Indefinitely,
To freeze time
Upon pages
For future generations.
This is why I like all your voices around me.
Live your lives,
Tell me your stories,
Don't stop talking,
Fill the air with your beautiful voices
That I might hear them,
Feel their warmth and their light
Their sorrow and strength,
So that I know just what you want to say
In the pages of your lives.