Gadgetized Community Ii Poem by Sumitra Mishra (nee Balakrishnan)

In the still of night, I find myself in query,
Is this urban ‘abode' indeed, or just a ghostly theory?
Where do the echoes of familiar sounds now dwell?
Gossip, giggles, and huddling stories we used to tell.

Where are grandpas, group-walking after their meal,
Moms congregating in the park's vibrant appeal?
At this not-midnight hour, my 'neighborhood' is frozen,
In silent unity, by some consensus chosen.

Closed windows, their ACs droning like tired bees,
Cars choke the walkways where we once walked free,
Stray dogs and cow - new kings on concrete thrones,
One walker stumbles, lost in thought's vast zones.

Their thoughts are tranquil, a world of their own,
The watchman taps his mobile, face lit blue and lone,
Unbothered as I pass through this gadgetized void,
My shadow - thin, unmet.

Amid this stillness, on my cold front step I sit,
Chai warms my curled palm - I watch stars, or screens that beacon? -
The city's pulse is hid. In silence, sharp and keen,
Hope flickers on... offline.