The Class of the Wounded

This is the class of the wounded 

when you walk in you see that 

they are smiling and chatting 

or perhaps revising 

or buried in their phones 

their lecturer is 

the bubbly type 

she is kind and animated 

and is enthusiastic about the course 

when she asks the first question 

a silence fills the room 

hands dangling in the air 

they were the ones who loved themselves 

when the class ends 

they leave in pairs or clusters 

in satisfaction 

They are here on their own accord 

they are the observers 

hiding their wounds 

to act as the kindness of strangers 

answering calls of the most desolate souls 

the most tired of them all 

a seasoned psychiatrist 

and shares her best stories 

of unspeakable things coming to life 

on depression and suicidal intent 

layered with the deadly weight of 

reaching for help 

as they wished their loved ones did 

they learn to smile again  

with the realisation 

that they are ready to be wounded again.