Jamshedpur, Jharkhand India

Faces

Faces here, faces there

faces everywhere –

beaming, caring, inviting,

loving, promising to stand by –

come rain or shine –

and the seduction is done!

I befriend them,

make a garland of

precious jewels,

gems of humanity

and put them on proud display

in showcase of my Facebook.

The initial days

make me feel good

under the showers of

‘wow’s and ‘hi’s.

My inflated soul

rides on high tides

of distinguished identity

and unflinching following.

On moves the Time

but tides recede

slowly, stealthily

and I’m caught unawares.

Ominous clouds

gather in my sky,

hurl thunderbolts at me –

I am devastated,

marooned, broken  

but – thank God – not defeated,

metamorphosed though.

The faces watch

in stoic detachment

my world crumbling

but shy away

reaching out to me

on palpable earth.

Instead, from the ivory tower

they write odes, sonnets, epics

with words of wisdom,

caution and consolation,

and post on my timeline

to voice their ‘solidarity’

(read ‘epitaph’).

The volte-face of the faces

now irks me,

I look at them askance.

Why not unfriend the faces?

-Sounds too uncourteous.

Why not delete my Facebook account altogether?

-How dare I be an outcast?

My turmoil, my inner voice hears

and quick comes the counsel:

“Unfriend only the ‘you’ that

you have ever been

and spare the rest.”