Alone
by R.E. Slater
Time too oft has been measured in loneliness
tho' perhaps not as others might measure loneliness
for in that space the study of life has been more
my companion read in ideas and histories,
errands and activities, excepting for the close
fellowship of friends who haven't been a greater
part of these my experiences. It would seem
most of my simple life has been spent in solitude
of thought, of emotion, journey, or adventure.
I suppose this latter to be the greater gain...
but also the greater loss... though I wouldn't
know not having the companionship of those
who might help determine if true or false.
It just is. And it is in the solitary moments
of the day as I read or write, fix or build,
that now enters the fabled twilight of life.
A journey that once held child-like wonder
across the whole of my being in the early days.
Tho' this wonder has yet to diminish, my love
for the journey is slowing... beheld more now
in the thoughts and questions of small, active
grandchildren surrounding me, too rapidly
growing into their own and hopefully to
discover a kind of fellowship I never had or,
perhaps, once had, only to watch it close up
like a shutting door become difficult to open
with the little hands of a child reaching up to
grasp the high lever but unable to push or pull
open the shut door; needing an unfound assist
which never came to help enter a portal
believed to be fairer than life itself.
Though circumstance might not allow for
enchanting dreams it is not enough to trod
this life alone, though everyday people mix
in and out of our lives. But in truth, when ills
or difficulties, joys or surprise, breakage or
longings come, the measure of relationships
dearly held is better than none if they can be
found. For it is there in the unspoken silences
of the weary day wherein frail hearts may try
or may not, but may try again, is bourne the
hopes of the forlorn who too easily are blown
across the woodlawn like scattering leaves
upon the wind - into, and out of, the lives of
one-and-all, day upon day, eve upon eve,
till nightfall's final fellowship and end.
R.E. Slater
November 6, 2024
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