Invisible

I am the smile behind the welcome The hand that opens your door The basket to collect your laundry Clearing your dirty plates from the floor I am the bleached raw ragged fingers Burnt in the scalding basin The spotless glass to serve your poison The soft pillow to bury your face in I am the swollen hungry belly Of the dusty child you do not see The moths on the backdrop of a glittering stage The wire that binds mothers to be free I am the cobwebbed elderly lady Waiting quietly on my turn My milky eyes watery and grey To see the great flame roar and burn And after the races have all been run And the gold is but a glowing ember After vanity has left on that majestic bird Only then will you remember It was me that you noticed on that cracked tar road With no one to hear my story Of how I have carried my own Olympic flag Long before the crowds, the lights and the glory!