To the ones I am yet to know;
Strolling down the side walk with no particular location in mind.
Arms gently swinging by my sides in sync with my paces,
My face slightly turned towards the soft rays of the mid-morning sun,
The rest of me sheltered in my coat cos the air was chilly enough.
I skimmed the faces of all that strode down beside me
All these faces, none familiar, none aware of my curiosity.
Arms in stride we all tread down the paths,
Each person locked into their own personal world.
With their next destination and action guiding their steps,
Many faces that hid the true on-going of each mind,
Hiding perfectly behind the public façade I perused like a detective.
All these many people that do not know each other,
How do we cross the line of being strangers to being friendly?
It’s interesting to play the game of guesswork,
Relying on the different play of emotions on each face,
Trying to decipher the story each tell.
Even as a situation like bumping into each other,
Changes our status from being strangers to the awareness of each other,
And this becomes the determinant of whether we will move up the status,
To being friendly or back to inevitable strangers.
Oh stranger, whom I am yet to know,
How I want to know what makes you tick!
VICTORIA UKPAKA
