This is why I prefer to avoid the hue and cry of crowds.
The surface conviviality of group encounters
Does not come easily to me.
I would far rather engage with one person
And have a brief but meaningful conversation.
I am uninterested in simply oiling the mechanism of polite flow.
Tell me something true and real that matters to you,
Else simply smile (or not) and walk past.
I like that better than chit-chat about the weather.
Unless you are a farmer.
Then the weather is of utmost importance.
I’ve learned to listen, a most useful skill,
And nod and make social-approval noises.
Then I make my way home,
Convinced more than ever
That I am not really human
And merely dwell among you,
Always a stranger in a very strange land.