Don’t be alarmed
I haven’t ‘lost’ a friend
At least not in the ‘literal’ sense
No, something much worse
Much more unexplainable
I have lost a friend, many friends
To the cacophony around
My piece here is rhetorical and cynical, some might say
I do not disagree
But my grievance is real
I have lost friendships as they used to be
Don’t be alarmed
I still have friends
But the warmth is perhaps a little colder
The smiles and hugs – intentional and artificial
For posterity perhaps – as if reminding oneself that one had a good life
The get-togethers a bit fabricated – with perfect settings
Bottleful of imported wines but empty, shrill conversations
Invisible barriers of affluence – of not just wealth but of thought everywhere
Make us inaccessible physically and emotionally
‘Not fitting in’ has been extolled so much
Someone ‘not fitting’ into this category is, paradoxically, labeled
Yes labels – there are too many of them today –
All clearly defining what’s wrong with our society
But categories that rob the complexity of us humans
Relegating all to neat cardboard boxes with satin ribbons
Friends are relations you chose – built on not just commonality of thought
But shared experiences and moments
Moments that are lived – not just a participant of
Experiences today are more for how others would perceive it
So the clinking of glasses has to be just perfect – the light juts right
And yes pearly smiles abound
I see my younger generation – ‘making friends’ but not lasting friendships
A lot more shared experiences – of travel and the works
But it’s too gleamy and postcardesque
Too virtual than personal
And much too loud and out there
Bellying perhaps the depth and strength of it all
Or may be I am just a cynic not unlike the tattered old paperback
Whose time is to retire from a world which makes little less sense
A world which is far too connected but less together
Much more enlightened but even more lost
Don’t be alarmed
Because I know I am not the only one!