Happiness Is Only Real When Shared Poem by RIC BASTASA

AT chow king
i've seen so many
new faces eating
the hours alone

no one is surprised
one gets attuned to
a certain individuality
a mode of indifference
where one minds
his own business
like a yuppy

i must be an outdated
fool feeling a little bit
ashamed to sip my
seafood noodles
alone sensing a
humiliating selfishness
underneath the spoon

i have decided though
to have a take-out
i am not happy at this
chair facing an empty
chair as others pass by

i want my noodles shared
with someone
where conversations
become spices where
news become condiments
where friendship makes
the food more delicious
simply because the hours
too are shared like food
for the soul itself.