Have you felt?

Wonder if we all go through this?Wonder why certain things plague more at times?

 

Have you wandered lonely in a crowd?

Sat at gatherings and not been there

Heard incessant chatter without listening

Shut out din and bustle blaring around

Given a smile that didn’t spread to your eyes

Just stretched your lips mechanically

 Heard the hollow echo of your own laugh

Been embarrassed by involuntary tears

Swallowed a lump in your throat

Yet entertained with your “humor”

Been praised for the gift of the gab

Eaten compulsively at banquets

As the only good thing to do

Shriveled at ladies boasting of their home making skills

Their motherly duties

Disapproving promiscuity

Tolerated sloshed men with overbearing “chivalry”

Felt an emptiness stirring within

Numbness at your fingertips

A gnawing pain inside

Wistful longing

Fleeting memories

Been sported around and expected to perform

Heard people confidently reading you wrong

Making judgments guided by norms and sanity

And profound commonsense

Leading you to doubt yourself

Struggled to say the right things

Tempted to speak your mind

Watched with dismay as

Your laughter broke into sobs

Stared unseeingly at life whizzing past

Felt inadequate, incompetent

Stranded amidst humanity

 

Reviews

[forfila]

You had me from the first line
"Have you wandered lonely in a crowd?"
Yes I have, you go on through some good points of the feelings that may arise from feeling
"Stranded amidst humanity"

I can relate well to this poem.
Much enjoyed.

Love,
Me

[Satine]

Nicely done this conversation on the human condition. This piece is universal in that perhaps we've all felt these things at one time or another yet it never becomes wordy or trite. That we humans can feel utterly alone or unseen in a crowd, that we often f-up even given the best of intentions. And oh, if anyone could could come up with an anti-emptiness potion the world would be transformed. The last line "Stranded amidst humanity" perfectly captures the essence of the write.

[LSS]

Raj,
I Love this poem. As always you are in top form. You have captured the essence of each of our solitary souls. Too often we grasp nothing with our lives and existence and seem to sense that there is little more. But there is! I have to agree with Carole. I also have come to know Jesus as my Lord and He has saved me from that life too. What once was alone is now filled, pity has turned to hope, hardship has become victory, and hate has become love.
Lar

[Dr. S. D. Blankenship D..]

Ok, This is a very nice poem. I cant see nothin wrong with the poem, so you go (Great read)

[Natalie C]

Wow my friend this truly was thought provoking in every sense of the word. The questions you posed very real and emotions conveyed true to being human. Some of your statements very relatable in the sense that we have all been there before sometime in our lives.

Very well written, your words seemed to flow easily with the difficult subject of mortality, easily understandable for anyone who reads it.

Great piece, it has to be one of your best that I have read till thus far.

Wonderfully written and great form. Each line denotes a key message readers can relate to, and have each of the key message combine and form a larger message.

Great form and choice of words.

This is a good piece

[Carole]

You pegged almost every feeling any one of us could have in life at almost any given moment, Raj! I related to many of them. It wasn't until I asked Jesus Christ into my heart as my Lord and Saviour, that purpose was born in my life. Everything changed from that moment on. Sure, I still struggle-but not in the magnitude that I once did. The emptiness and the loneliness foremost are not prevalent now.

Your poem reminds me verbatim of how it is during the grieving process though. When I lost my mom to suicide, I had many of these feelings. Any type of death, whether we lose a loved one or friend,or even loss in another form, brings inescapable pain. During the grieving process, I experienced many of these:

Sat at gatherings and not been there
Heard incessant chatter without listening
Shut out din and bustle blaring around
Given a smile that didn't spread to your eyes
Just stretched your lips mechanically
Heard the hollow echo of your own laugh
Been embarrassed by involuntary tears
Swallowed a lump in your throat
Yet entertained with your "humor"

And there were others as well. In this poem you reached down and touched the frailties of humanity in a way that only you can. I agree with Nuala! Love the picture. It added the perfect touch. I especially remember as a young girl, laughing and "clowning around" when my pain was the deepest. Interesting, isn't it? How we cover up?

Pretense is something the Lord has worked me through, in His limitless grace and mercy. If you have a moment, read "Taking Off the Mask of Pretense."

Blessings, Carole

[Bhavya Kaushik]

This is one of those writes with which most of us could relate themselves to!
"Heard the hollow echo of your own laugh
Been embarrassed by involuntary tears" These two lines actually made me wonder!!
I'm amazed by your power usage of language...Great indeed!

Brilliant work..I'm adding it to my favorites..lolz :D

[None]

I really like the art you added to this, especially the clown!

[Tania Leigh]

I believe you would be hard-pressed to find someone this poem doesn't speak to....you have touched on so many emotions and situations here....it is very good work.

Your poem reminds me of a saying: "True courage is being the only one that knows you're afraid"
An admirable quality, but also a very lonely one.

Nicely done.

[Brenda Sue]

I have lived this especially after my husband passed away. A wonderful piece. Excellent job.