LONELINESS
 

Old folks who remember things that happened years ago,
Places where they’ve been and even things that people said,
Tend to reminisce a lot, their stories may go on and on
With troves of mem’ries they recall that kids should listen to.
But kids' minds are elsewhere; they are texting friends on cell phones;
Grandpa talks of yesterdays for they are all that’s left.
He doesn’t pause or stumble when he tells about those olden times,
But put him in the midst of kinfolk talking politics
And present-day opinions and what’s happening in Pakistan,
He disappears inside his head, or back into his room.
It’s safe in there; no challenges.  He turns the television on
And watches re-runs of the shows that used to make him laugh.
For being by yourself is not the only kind of loneliness,
There's conversations, also, that you cannot understand.
Being left out in a crowd is very lonely, too.