The tragedy of our times is not that we are lonely.

The tragedy is that we’re surrounded by friends and still feel alone.

We are all pariahs. Banished from each other.

The tragedy of our times is not that we don’t have enough to eat.

The tragedy is that one eats enough for five. And the five feed on the scraps of the one.

We have enough for everyone. It’s just that today, everyone is just “me.”

The tragedy of our times is not that our families are breaking apart.

The tragedy is that we stay together and remain strangers to our own flesh and blood.

And then we wonder how we ever grew so distant.

The tragedy of our times is not that we have dishonest leaders.

The tragedy is that we are blind to our own dishonesty.

For we pick our leaders from amongst ourselves.

The tragedy of our times is not that we have become intolerant.

The tragedy is that we fight in the name of Gods who would want nothing but for us to live in harmony.

But all we do is burn. And fight. And judge.

The tragedy of our times is not that we have too many opinions.

The tragedy is that we have no respect for those that aren’t ours.

We no longer debate and discuss. We condemn and curse.

The tragedy of our times is not that we don’t have enough money.

The tragedy is that we use it more for own destruction than our salvation.

We spend more on war than we do on the future of our children.

The tragedy of our times is not that we don’t have enough knowledge.

The tragedy is that we don’t have enough wisdom. It has been discarded. Ignored. Relegated to the past.

But if we don’t know where we come from, how will we know where to go?

The tragedy of our times is not that we are arrogant.

The tragedy is that we let our hearts think for our minds and our minds feel for our hearts.

We grow old. But we never grow up.

The tragedy of our times isn’t that we have forgotten how to love.

The tragedy is that we have raised in our hearts barriers to love.

A love that we only comprehend once the person we loved is gone.

And by then it is too late.

– Suparn Pandey

All photos used are for representational purposes only.

This poem is an original composition by the author. Reproduction or commercial use is prohibited without the writer’s express permission.