Lost Souls

Forlorn, lonely and bereft of human warmth
they are legion across the varied spectrum
of populations existing everywhere on this
globe, wondering at the lost purpose of
their lives, constantly reliving grief and loss
in regret, humble and miserable in the face of
a life they view of little value to themselves
and anyone else. Burdened under the
weight of endless unhappiness they turn
their faces grimly to busy their minds and
their bodies hoping that physical exhaustion
will lead them to anaesthetize their feelings.
In the process, they smile, make a valiant
effort to react normally in their surroundings
to interact socially with family and friends
in a manner reassuring to the outside world
settling nothing within their troubled souls.
Anxious and wearied with life's blows they
convince themselves to reach out to absolute 
strangers of whom they know nothing and 
through the ether of an Internet connection 
plead for friendship to enable them to ventilate
their misery hoping that distance and empathy
may somehow miraculously present a cure.