(Old order changeth yielding place to new)
Old order is ready for departure
masked women, men, children stand apart
on the pavement,
a monster virus changes our life,
so far so near; the new normal.
I can notice a spot of grass riffling
amid the concrete,
an unknown creature is chewing on roots,
critters rustle in the bushes in light rain
I am a super hero of senses in exile.
Feel the screen, feel the love in your eyes
listen only to your phone chirps, late-night whispers,
I am numbed to the outside world.
I cannot touch you, cannot smell your presence
my vision blurs, my mind dies.
Here I am alive in isolation,
breathing in soulless life’
waiting for a new world.
~ Gopal Lahiri
Kolkata, India