An exciting arrival
A warm welcome from the host
He enters the throng hopefully
He will meet old acquaintances
He will make new friends.
But all too soon
All morsels of acquaintance pecked
Scarce crumbs of friendship consumed
There remain only the empty bowls of unknown faces
Receding into the walls
Reflecting back his loneliness
Amplified by the surrounding throng.
Other voices hum around him
But he doesn’t speak.
He slips out quietly.
For him the party is over.