Grab handles bouncing left and right 
Inside a streetcar bound for a ferry 
Who are these people? I wonder, 
What is their story? 
Strangers everywhere 
Like fish in the sea 
Are they happy at the end of the day, 
Or is their canvas streaked with tears? 
  
Water sparkles 
A black starfish in a diamond sea 
Trudging on seaweed and gravel 
Ankles wet, eyes happy 
An unfamiliar location 
The thrill of a new territory 
Every day brings with it solitary 
excursions 
A familiar face brings warm relief 
 
Sometimes there are fateful encounters 
More often than not, a sentence left within 
I initiate conversations 
They lead to quick bonds, or end disappointingly 
I try to keep the ball rolling 
They’re not bouncing it 
But when they are 
It’s like we’ve known each other for eternity 
 
The hunger is insatiable 
By now, a part of me 
I hear various languages 
And behold diverse bodies 
Jealous of others 
Sinking into self-pity 
Limping in contentment 
Thankful for a rewarding peak 
 
I lounge on a boulder 
What a joyous dream 
Salt whitens my boots 
Gentle breeze and a sea of green 
Pink petals blossom tenderly 
The sun is kind, the weather welcoming 
Such miracles of nature 
Ought to be complimentary 
 
Yet time moves on 
It changes everything 
A rejected past 
The gift of the present 
A looming future 
Regret and fear 
 
Blocked by suitors 
Ghosted post-companionship 
Taking melatonin 
Sleep is hard and brief 
I seek the urban in the rural 
And miss the countryside when in a city 
Longing for civilisation 
Sick of human beings 
 
Perhaps one day I will make a connection 
A small success, a goal achieved 
Perhaps the day will never come 
And in its stead, my fears 
But boredom is the enemy of the mind 
Remorse, the heart’s disease 
Better to have tried and failed 
Than to think at night about what could’ve been 
The possibilities are endless 
Yet feel out of reach 
It’s time to take a leap of faith 
If I fall, I’ll mend my knee.