Alone In A Crowd

Sometimes, in a crowded room, you
can still feel alone. So many people
surround you, but you're strictly on
your own. Looking around the room,
not one familiar face, you see. Should
there be any conversation, it's going
to have to come, from me. I would
have thought just the opposite, seeing
a new person appear. But the way it
looks, it's not going to happen here.
People have become much more
reserved, then they used to be. At
one time, they would pin you down
and gab away. Now, I can't even find
one, who has anything, to say. Next
time, I'll not accept invitations, unless
there's somebody there I know. I'll
just have to be polite, give them a
smile and turn them down, by saying
no!

by Audrey Heller

Other poems of HELLER (1262)

Comments (24)

A perfect script which says it all about loneliness, loneliness can engulf your thoughts even though you are surrounded by so many people who do not matter the most in your life.

A suited title for your impressive words. Loneliness is a huge issued yet not recognised enough as a problem. Thank You.

Audrey, congratulations on Poem Of The Day! I'm not certain what else needs to be said about this poem. Your peers appear to have said it all. So I'll leave you with this: Not Lonely...Not Alone To be with people Not feel lonely To be with oneself Not feel alone

The experience of the subject in finding herself in a roomful of strangers reticent to make contact, with the presumption that this is a reflection of an alteration in social behaviors. Interestingly, the piece itself is very conversational in tone, although with a penchant for a structured rhyme scheme. The poem succeeds in maintaining the routine structure of straightforward poetry, while directly making the somewhat straightforward statement of this perceived alteration in social behavior. I think, good poet, I would love to see you abandon the routine structure of poetry for a deeper exploration of the theme of loneliness hinted at in your title. What is it like to be lonely in a crowd? What does loneliness look like surrounded by humanity? What is the shape, the texture, the taste of loneliness in such a situation? What is the quality, the sensation, the palpable shape of the noises of conversation floating around you, but withheld from you? Not just telling the story, but describing the sensory edges of the story, so that we might not just nod in agreement at a familiar situation, but feel the gripping loneliness of your soul resonating within our own.

So true.nothing like being the wallflower watching the dip get old.I've gone to parties and felt isolated..how to break the ice? Speak up.. good poem with a ring of truth..