Life in Fifties

A bit of a longish write, about people in their fifties

Dedicated to my two sons, their friends and friends of their friends…..

Life in Fifties

The moment I entered my house

Switched on the lights

The huge screen on the wall

Came alive

That kids had convinced me to buy

On emi’s, for it was beyond my means

It had a HD screen

Which showed life as it is

Lifelike is the word I remember distinctly

Till date, don’t know what it exactly means

Lifelike for me, holds no other meaning

Nothing can be more lifelike than life itself

To be explored not only with eyes

But with all the senses

And a wild imagination

But that’s for another day

And as I enter my home

A dull silence

That makes my breathing sound like a growls

Envelops me

Placing the groceries in the kitchen

I laze on the worn out cushions

Of an expansive couch

Meant for a family of four

And turn my head upwards and watch the ceiling

Thought it was bigger than the screen

Lifelike too

For it had been watching everything below

First hand

And was getting used to the empty silence

Like me

And I smile inwardly

As there’s no one who would see

They may be out for the night

Or closeted in their rooms

Headphones fused to their skulls

Nodding their head to its beats

Or typing on their keyboard

With a pianist’s creative fury

Well all’s well I say to myself

At least they are breathing

And they do eat a lot

When, I don’t really know

But the refrigerator needs to replenished

Every now and then, to the brim

I can see them when I want to

Hear them speak sometimes

On their phones

Though they may not notice me

Nor their mother

In their tight schedule of working hard

Alternating with chilling out

They don’t seem to realise

There’s life in their old man’s chest

And he pays all the bills

Including WiFi and their phones

©️ShashikantDudhgaonkar