Big City Life

The lights turned red,

So there we stood,

Impatiently.

City streetscapes structured, ordered

Signposts stopping people, traffic.

Impersonal!

Shadows fall across the pavement,

And there within the crowd I stand.

Alone!

There is no substance to the shadows,

Merely images upon the ground.

Inanimate!

Cold, unyielding concrete, all around.

Aloof, remote the people pressing close.

Dispassionate!

Earphones clamped to nodding heads

Living in a world of strident sound.

Withdrawn!

Workday ending, travelling home.

Bustling, pushing, friendless throngs.

Silent!

Home at last to empty flat

And stop to pat the neighbour’s cat.

Connection.

Then inside, ring the Pizza Place

And eat in silence.

Contemplating.

Flop in bed and watch TV

Till channel close, then restless sleep.

Dreaming.

To dream of things I’d like to do.

Unlikely now that time has passed.

Too soon.

Too soon the dawn is breaking,

Then out of bed to start again,

Routine.

Once more the trudge to railway station,

Back to work in isolation.

Separation.

Big city life had seemed exciting,

But here once more I brood,

Disillusioned.

© Bruce Deitz