You there
With the small frame
and loud voice
Do they know why you are so stubborn
That you collect rent
Demand what is due
For tin and cardboard homes
The ones held together by hope
You there
With the wrong pants
Do they know you want to be an engineer
You there
With the bowed head
Do they know why you are always so tired
The women with bright sarees and hard faces
Do they know you wake up when it’s still dark
To sell milk
You there
With the mischievous smile
Does your family know
You got an A on your science test
Best score in the class
Do your classmates know
That you clean a salon
After school
Do they know and not care
Or do they not care to know
You there
With the long stick clenched in white knuckles
And a lime green whistle between your teeth
What do you like
Who do you love
To beat
These children
Smiles fall from their happy cheeks
Like a cruel game of hot hands
They stretch their small palms
Wince
Draw their fingers back
And sit
You there
Do you know
That you are loved
We are
The Strangers
Ironically
Because we could know each other
with the click of a button
Like a friend’s friend’s photo
and a connection is made
They like your photo
and it’s a fair trade
No
We don’t
Aren’t forced to communicate
when given the option to hide behind a screen
Easier
to read an exclamation mark than to hear someone scream
We are all interconnected
on the surface
But how deep can our devices go
How well do you know, that person
30 years ago relationships were built on interaction
not text transactions
Take
a minute
Strange
How much we are willing to share, with strangers
Is how we feel
something to post about
We gloat about our sadness
because maybe online
someone will care
Too scared
to say it out loud
Afraid of how it might sound
Connections are not built on a number of double taps
Just a temporary lapse
Perhaps
connections are founded on vulnerability
The ability to tell someone to their face
Not showcase it
on a social media page
We strangers, we are crucial to making a change
Whether or not we decide to reach out a hand
The next generation may not understand
how to hold a conversation
We need to evolve
Not work backwards
But technology forces us
backwards
We have to use what we are given
to improve
Or loose
The ice of our relationships is thin.
And not every one has to be thick
but wouldn’t it be nice to know you aren’t always going to fall.
If those that we trust will be there
when the screens aren’t
Up to us
The world is at our fingertips
But the power to change is held in our hands
Not in our devices
We Strangers have the responsibility to prioritize face to face connections
Stop disguising our complexions
In time we can change the minds of those after us
But only if we decide to try
The wonderful thing, about us Strangers
is how we become friends
All we have to do
is reach out
a hand.
How do you deal with suffering?
Ignore
Because it’s always easier
Pretend it’s not there
Walk by, avert your eyes, knowing if you glance four feet to your right you’ll see a thin man, muttering, unable to stand
Avoid
Take the path you know there will be no wanders or beggars
Give in
Reach into the bottom of your pocket, feel the change you know could buy a meal, and drop it in the empty hand, fingers closing around the coins you’d never miss and still
Know you can never help every person in pain
Or do you stare
straight in its eyes
Hear the words you can’t understand grabbing at your ears, feel the weathered hands rustle your shirt, caress your arm, see the small shiny tin with a few lonely coins, never notes
How do you deal with it
The first time I saw what everyone told me I would see
A woman
With a sour face, whispering words she knew I wouldn’t know
But you can understand what someone is saying without speaking their language
She closed her empty fingers at the tips, bringing them to her mouth
Held her naked, smiling baby on her hip
Sad, brown eyes, that couldn’t possibly tell the terrors they had beheld
How do you know what you give suffering will not further its pain
What if in comes in the form of a child
Wrapped in rough red rags
Wrapping her small body around your right leg
Words you don’t know pulling at your heart as she looks up at you
She clings to the car, pleading and you can’t ignore it now
Now
You have to look deep in its eyes
And make a choice
