The Stranger

Ten thousand faces on the street,

     And not one face I know;

Ten thousand souls I daily meet,

     Whene’er I come or go.

Ten thousand hearts both brave and gray,

     All moving here and there;

Ten thousand people on their way,

     And only God knows where.

Ten thousand lights to shed their rays

     Upon the city’s night;

Ten thousand joys within her ways,

     But none for me in sight.

For O, this endless stream of life,

     Which others live to bless,

Where life and gaiety are rife,

     Adds to my loneliness.

Ten thousand hopes dashed to the earth,

     To moulder with the years;

Ten thousand miles from land of birth,

     Ten thousand idle tears.

And yet, the souls both grave and gray,

     They neither know nor care;

Ten thousand still upon their way,

     And only God knows where!

    

May 4, ‘09

(published as “The Stranger Within’ in ‘Jocosities’ column)