The world isn't ending but the speed at which certain things can end has never been more visible to me. Loneliness hasn’t been a foreign experience to most, but it seems like one that most of us aren’t willing to talk about; because that act itself could result in more of it.
Quarantined in my single-person dorm, in London, with the world still seeming the same when I look outside at the window, I can’t help but ask myself why or what I feel, and if this feeling is even valid. It’s hard to accept that I'm lonely because I feel everyone is feeling or going through more right now. I can only recall a part of a Faiz Ahmed Faiz poem at this moment, “Kar raha tha gham-e- jahan ka hisaab. Ajj tum yaad be-hisaab aaye”. ( “Was trying to measure the grief and loneliness of this world. Today I longed for you immeasurably” ) Most days are the same for me so far, I wake up, I work, I try calling my friends and family, make more art, drawings, or practice my creativity, and repeat. With everything changing this rapidly, I’m finding solace in repetitive acts, and routine.
By Ali Shamim,
London, United Kingdom.