The Unsociable

When the streets were crowded,
I was indifferent to company.
Now when the streets are empty,
I look for someone to talk to.
When people came to hug me,
I treated them like nuisance bugs.
Now I have none even to shake hands.
When friends longed to meet me,
It looked like crazy sentimental stuff.
Now when I long to meet them,
They stay far away,socially distanced.
My closed doors eagerly yearn for a knock
By the once 'worrisome',stream of visitors.
It was irksome to get my clothes ironed;
Today,my ironed dresses stay piled
In my wardrobe,like old files in Govt offices.
Wrist watches have become rest watches. 
Mobile phones are now the social mafias
Mustering manifold,distant social guffaws.
"Be at home;take care;remain safe"
These nagging imperatives sell today,
Like sanitizers and stifling masks.
To be an unsociable in active societies,
Is a prouder and bigger bet of a routine,
Than to be shut at home without society,
Cursed by the stigma of social distancing.
P. Chandrasekaran.