We Are Alone

By Vidya

We stand alone amidst the crowd,
With our sorrows, silent and unbowed.
A family, complete in every way,
Yet lost in mobile screens all day.

Husband, wife, and children too,
Find their phones more dear than you.
Amidst their busy, well-planned days,
No one asks, “How are you?” in caring ways.

Artificiality has not yet taken over all,
Yet human sensitivity has begun to fall.
The calculations of who is ours and who is not,
Leave us confused, entangled in thought.

Some find us pleasing, others do not,
Yet everyone longs for affection a lot.
We claim to be social, but live apart,
For love and warmth need company and heart.

Mutual bonds have slowly disappeared,
Meeting each day is no longer held dear.
There was a time when none were strangers,
We visited freely, without fear or barriers.

Now we hesitate, unsure of what to say,
Or whether we might disturb someone’s day.
We never know when someone is free,
Only then will they answer our plea.

Loneliness pierces the soul within,
While thoughts and reflections never end.
Whom can we tell our sorrows and pain?
Who will listen to our life’s tale again?

The mind is filled with thoughts untold,
A longing to express them, strong and bold.
But whom can we trust with what we feel?
Whom can we ask to sit with us awhile?

Even asking after someone by phone
Feels like a burden, a task of its own.
Everyone walks their separate way,
And talks of profit, come what may.

How far the world has travelled from where it began,
Where it is heading, who truly can understand?
Mutual bonds are fading away,
And loneliness seems here to stay.

— Vidya