yesterday
as we went on our way
I noticed something
since I’ve stopped allowing Blue
quite so much play
those who once stopped
with plenty to say
had little to offer
when we sat down
to say
hi
we’d been out
enjoying the day
but later
as the sun sank
from the sky
we were out again
passing by
saying hi
and we were ignored
it hurt
for sure
but it confirmed
what I’ve always said
sometimes
I’m invisible
yes
it’s true
I’m the one
on the other end
of the leash from Blue
but sometimes
I
don’t exist
they see the dog
the harness
the team
but somehow
they don’t see me
and you know what?
that’s AOkay with me
because I’ve got
the best love in the world
it comes when
beside me
Blue is curled
so I’ll drink my coffee
let the tears fall
they’ll dry
after a while
and soon enough
I’ll find my smile
find my place
beneath the shade
of a tree
where Blue
and Mother Earth
sit quietly with me
there
I don’t have to wonder
if I’m seen
I can simply
be
and today
that’s AOkay
with me
Invisible Patty L. Fletcher: https://pattysworlds.com/become-a-sponsoring-member-of-pattys-worlds-adverts-newsnuggets-webpagecreations/
I pushed too hard
let my words go way too far
left a wound
left a scar
Goddess! I’m sorry
please do not banish me from his heart!
A Prayer Asking for Forgiveness Patty L. Fletcher: https://pattysworlds.com/become-a-sponsoring-member-of-pattys-worlds-adverts-newsnugget
thank you for Blue
his love is true
I’m not alone
as long as he’s with me
sometimes though
it’s truly so
a human’s arms
around me
is what I need
but
at least Blue loves me
Just, As, I, Am!
Caption to photo.
The image shows a black dog lying inside a soft-sided, green and black fabric crate or pet enclosure. The crate has mesh windows and is open at the front where the dog is resting on a dark blanket with a white cloth underneath it. A small rope toy with red, white, and black colors lies just outside the crate entrance. The setting appears to be indoors, with sunlight casting shadows on the carpeted floor and a white wall in the background.
Robbie Cheadle
September 1, 2026This happens to everyone, Patty. Sometimes I go to work and don’t speak to anyone the whole day other than saying hi to the security guards. Life has changed since Covid and people are often working from home so not in the office or just to busy with their own work to even say hello. This seems to be the new world order.
Patty Fletcher
September 1, 2026Hi Robbie.
I get what you’re saying, but this is very different. When I was allowing more interaction with Blue I had people around me all the time. Everywhere I went people stopped to chat.
Then, I got sick, blue had to go away for a while, and when he came back, I was advised to stop all the extra interaction and only allow Blue to interact socially with people in specific situations.
When that became reality, and they were right to have me do it because Blue should not be handled so much in harness and I was letting him play too much but when it happened,
I simply became invisible.
For reasons I and other guide dog handlers who experience this of which there are plenty don’t understand this happens a lot.
We just aren’t important enough on our own to visit with.
I walked past an entire group of people who when Blue was allowed amongst them would have gone out of their way to have me sit with them and when I stopped on the edge of the deck where they were sitting, we were not even acknowledged. It is something much different than what you are talking about.
I do not mean to be offensive with this comment but for a guide dog handler this happens a lot. We simply have no identity when we have not got the dog or when we cannot allow pets.
When Blue was away and I was walking about with my cane, I tried to engage with our night and weekend manager who always sits in the lobby to greet people each morning, and I stood to the side observing people coming in with their dogs and such and he spent time with them but even when I tried to join in, I was dismissed with a curt hello.
That hurts.
I appreciate your reading and commenting on this post, but this is not the normal issue of isolating after COVID Etc.
This problem has existed since guide dogs became a thing in 1929.
Thanks again and again no offense.