Birthday Party

I sat watching them Scamper, gather, chatter Across the party hall Filled plates in hands Noodles and spaghetti Drooling from their overworked lips And getting drawn in again With spicy technical jargon Young techies in their twenties Girls and boys Hired by a software giant From Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune And distant Gurgaon At a child's birthday party In Seattle where drizzles played Peek-a-boo hide and seek With a reluctant sun Theirs was a world Far away, perhaps, by light years From my sunset senility Is a generation so far away? I heard them I thought But didn't hear a word As they spoke Every movement of their lips Escaped my comprehension A clouded tearful afternoon They talked and talked Exchanged pleasantries Discussed their work and woes As I sat looking at them blank Like shoals of fish in frenetic motion Oft breaking apart and scattering In cackles of mirthful laughter The party went on In the hall of my awareness Guests trickled in and out Till my stare was stark empty Silence prevailed What did it matter If I heard them or not If I had my hearing aid on All that counted The party happened In my presence The presence I am The happening's very essence