Loneliness

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I always stay at home,
I love travelling, meeting friends, and making paper cuttings,
I love to see my children and grandchildren and chat with them,
I am a little bit deaf,
I can’t hear them clearly,
My grandchildren listen to me and chat with me sometimes,
Most of the time they are impatient,
They are too busy,
They are not always with me,
“Don’t go out, your body condition does not allow it.” they said,
“Don’t do the housework, you can’t help, you’d better just sit there and watch TV” they said,
“Don’t ask that much, it’s not your business” they said,
I have to stay at home.
Hypertension, heart disease, arthritis and countless medicines are always with me,
I want to live by myself,
But I have to live with my son because of my illness,
There are no friends, only a TV,
After dinner, they asked me to go to sleep,
It’s just 7:30 pm,
Too early for me,
But I have nothing to do, it’s too boring to watch TV, they don’t have time to chat with me,
I can only go to sleep.
Very funny,
The only thing I can do is stay at home and sleep.

(This poem was inspired by the daily conversation with my grandma)

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With the popularization of electric lights, the interior space became too bright in contemporary life and the shadows gradually disappeared into the corners; the elderly are like the disappearing shadows ignored by society.

Junichiro Tanizaki