Where do they all go when they're not here?

Question

I saw two young girls, giggling,
Comparing carrots to I don't know what.
A man passes me in a hurry,
Lines of concentration on his brow,
Swirls of anxiety in his wake,
While a silver haired old lady
Peruses the wine labels, half smiling.
I wonder if she's planning a romantic dinner.
Two small children pass in a cloud of laughs,
Ignoring the cries of a harried mother
And hiding round the corner of the bread rolls.
Waiting breathlessly, wide eyed, grinning.
A pair of teenagers lounge studiously,
Studying the CD racks with one eye
And a couple of girls with the other,
Exuding nonchalance and pheremones.
People in shop uniforms bustle,
Filling shelves, sweeping, giving directions
With fixed grins, genuine grins, warm smiles,
An occasional grimace.
White, black, brown, yellow,
They're all here, and then gone again,
Replaced minute by minute.
Where do they come from?
Where do they go?
What do they do, think, want, dislike?
How many are saints, sinners, lunatics?
Are any of them aware of me? Each other?
Oh, my line is moving,
Got to go.

KARMA IS IT THOU? · Accepted Answer

And we still keep on questioning. This is very well written. I enjoyed it very much. thanks.

crawdadhead · Answer

Most interesting.Like the person who asked could it be possible to know:
 how many raindrops in a rainbow?
if a cat were to purr all its life how many people would stop to pet it?
if there had been no wars past or present what would life be like in total peace and harmony?
if mosquitoes were vegetarians would be their favorite food?
if a turtle didn't have a shell where would it call home?
if flying fish could really fly where would they go?
if chickens laid pickles instead of eggs what would we have for breakfast?
if a clown fish could tell jokes would we laugh?
if there was no winter what would squirrels do with their extra nuts?
if snowflakes each had a name would we stop to count them?
if the stars in the sky stopped shining would the moon be lonely

Anonymous · Answer

When one is forced to stop - one starts to look around. What stories and personalities are present - if we only take the time. I used to love those convention lines - a few friendships were made â¥
http://www.nydailynews.com/img/2008/07/11/alg_iphone-line.jpg

Mona Lisa · Answer

Hey, this is very well written, I loved it. Looking for the personalities behind the impersonal encounters. 

We should stop more often to look at what's going on around us, really look.

Thank you for sharing this.

Ice · Answer

Good commentary on stepping back and thinking about all those people we see and meet every day.

Reminds me of watching documentary films with old footage and thinking "I wonder what happened to those people?"

Where do they all go when they're not here?

5 Answers