The first human language is touch

instinctive

automatic

second nature

touch comes before sight

before speech

skin on skin 

begins each individual journey

 

In life, in death,

in times of great despair touch is there

we reach out, we grasp hold

sustained

soothed by human contact

we respond to those in need

hand on hand

heeding their pain

 

But when touch declares war

when touch becomes the enemy

when touch brings the biggest global threat the world has known

our lives are turned around 

thrown upside down 

postponed, cancelled indefinitely

 

We retreat and seek

a different kind of empathy with our fellow-man

find new ways to care

to just be there

virtually communicating a means of healing

technically alleviating anxious feelings

of intense sorrow

heart on heart

until tomorrow

 

when the world will re-open

and invite us back to living

when the sun will shine

and mankind will be forgiving

when we will appreciate all that we ever had

and all we ever needed to survive

 

when tears dry and smiles grow

and the power of human touch

is restored in all its glory

 

skin on skin

hand on hand

heart on heart

the first human language is touch