Where’s thy neighbour?

There was a time when we had open doors, Open hearts and open minds, To see the kids go to school and drenched in rain To see them play and shout and scream And teach them baby steps and see them grow We had no elevators, but slow steps to progress And came together to celebrate new beginnings And stand in times of distress and need It wasn’t just one community, one race But never-ending unfathomable grace Soon to realize we lost our near ones Till soon some birds flew from their nest How could aged parents rest Their worries knew no end We did what we could best There stood some silence in quest We will always wish and pray To hope someday a golden ray Cheerful hearts would one day unfold We had many but now few hands to hold Every time we watch and listen How the birds came to chirp and sing The rain, quake and stormy weather We stood together like birds of a feather To our surprise and solemn promise Change is evident and the only constant Drifted away but yet connected We tried too hard to find folks anew Pinned on life and hope to renew Can’t get off those memories Buried and washed away Sands of time are cast away Stories of our childhood tell Deep within, something we felt The bond that existed, lies no more Humans have evolved, emotions haven’t Driving this fast-paced life of ours Wondering if we’ve lost the road Can’t turn back time to bring home Regret or cherish some moments old We came, we saw, we conquered Wishes and dreams that were unfulfilled Didn’t realize the reactions that told Response to mankind, make it bold Traversing through the journey line Where would this take me Miles away to distant land We tried, we helped, we reached out We felt our hands too short That failed to grow amidst our wealth Nothing seemed right Chasing to make amends again Lost in transition, all in vain The need to speed up a bit more Lagged behind the rest we know Resting our shoulders We cry in pain Where did we miss out Please explain Do we have a chance to prove Start afresh, no time to brood Come to our aid and save us From the shackles of the dark We came back to look And where would we find your presence Your hands that always blessed us And warmth that always fed us Though we spent most of lives here Now there’s sort of silence here I cannot think this was the place That sought joy in your face A slight shift but changed it all Never imagined who’s next door at all Enabled all our senses to know Let peace abide on the floor Celebrating and sharing our happiness A knock on the door takes off loneliness Lost and found, searching in labour All we ask is where’s my neighbour?