Strangers Poem by Barry Middleton

I often wonder how many
how many are isolated by fate
or by their own mistakes
how many are alone in this world

with all its romance and grief
with all its sorcery and deceit
the world flows by my door
like a river to who knows where

on the other side of that river
I see the faces of strangers
I see a sad fog of solitude
souls disconnected from touch

I hide behind a clever disguise
I hide behind a vacant stare
I look and pretend to know you
but I do not fool myself

I am nothing but an illusion
a flickering and dying reflection
alone in the immensity of universe
I am a stranger here

I am the invisible man
colorless and muted by shadows
no one sees me or hears my cry
my desolate tears fall in darkness