Not Among Them Poem by Samuel Segun Toluwalase

I stood in the midst of them all
They chatted away and laughed out their lungs
They were happy and so was I too
Happy for them
Happy that they could laugh
It was a cheerful atmosphere
But I was missing in all of it


I too talked with them and laughed and smiled
I nodded and whispered like they did
They never stared in my direction
They never responded
They never commented
They only circled themselves and kept on
Not among them