Familiar Faces Poem by Pradip Chattopadhyay

Some people I know
I meet in the marketplace,
Greet them with Hi and a little bow,
As courtesy shown to a known face,
No further the relation can go!
I never care to know them more
They’re just known passersby,
To them I never open my door
Nor to build friendship I try!
Some people I know
I meet on the way,
Throw a brief smile at them,
That’s so far as it can go,
I don’t care to know their name!
Fellow travelers on a passing ship
I wish I could know them more
Their thoughts that lie hidden deep
Like waiting rains yearning to pour!
If we could take it a little more
To bridge the yawning distance,
Opened up to each other our hearts’ door
To give friendship a chance,
I could find from them some true gem
That it would be a loss not to know,
But I never care to know their name,
The familiar faces I greet with a bow!