Quiet Heroics

You walked through streets without applause,  

soft soles brushing against uneven ground.  

The path turned left, then right again,  

but you knew where it would lead.  

You laughed aloud at a sudden thought,  

nobody there to ask you why.  

You solved your hunger, found a bench,  

counted clouds as they rearranged themselves.  

No grand witness marked the small triumph—  

the zipper fixed, the sock softly mended.  

Your thoughts curled inward, a resting cat,  

while the day stretched quietly around you.  

There was no story told to a crowd,  

no need to turn the moment gold.  

It was enough to simply exist,  

to stitch joy unnoticed into your pocket.