My father used to say,
"Superior people never make long visits,
have to be shown Longfellow's grave
nor the glass flowers at Harvard.
Self reliant like the cat --
that takes its prey to privacy,
the mouse's limp tail hanging like a shoelace from its mouth --
they sometimes enjoy solitude,
and can be robbed of speech
by speech which has delighted them.
......
When your eyes meet with my solitude
Silence becomes fruit
And sleep turns into storm.
Forbidden doors are opened
And water learns how to suffer.
When my solitude meets with your eyes
Desire rises and spreads
Sometimes like an insolent tide
A wave running without end,
......
The cruel laughter of the soul
Laments its flagellation by time,
Ebbed on the flattened stones of
A raped river.
Sorrow, an amanuensis of silence,
Reads the minutes of the last meeting
Held within dying doors, between
Mind and soul, two warring nations
Of a proud heart,
Now asleep with bloodshot eyes.
......
SHE will not sleep, for fear of dreams,
But, rising, quits her restless bed,
And walks where some beclouded beams
Of moonlight through the hall are shed.
Obedient to the goad of grief,
Her steps, now fast, now lingering slow,
In varying motion seek relief
From the Eumenides of woe.
......
Forget roadside crossings.
Go nowhere with guns.
Go elsewhere your own way,
lonely and wanting. Or
stay and be early:
next to deep woods
inhabit old orchards.
All clearings promise.
......
The cruel laughter of the soul
Laments its flagellation by time,
Ebbed on the flattened stones of
A raped river.
Sorrow, an amanuensis of silence,
Reads the minutes of the last meeting
Held within dying doors, between
Mind and soul, two warring nations
Of a proud heart,
Now asleep with bloodshot eyes.
......
Sands of plum evening
Cactus blooms love cool twilight
Windswept, pearly dunes
Hot orange days are so long
evoking the starlit throng
Solitude songbirds
in fiery sunset colors
croon songs to lovers
Magnificent moon so huge
......
clarity
faithfulness
ambition
and bliss
my aquamarine gemstone
stuck at the bottom of your abyss
a void of loneliness
as you described it to me
dragging you in deeper
......
Although I greatly loved socializing, I really enjoyed being alone,
Like ebony evenings of magic, with no ringing of the telephone.
Since my young childhood, I had been, an introverted extrovert,
Like one with eyes to azure skies, for solitary sun's extra burst!
I loved my work as a museum tour guide, as blossoms love rain,
And offish Mars loves twirling alone, in the red days of his fame.
Yet, in leisure hours I was often alone, like a full, alienated moon,
......
How my heart does pour with the blood of you
No bandage can stop you from seeping through
You have forcibly held me against my will
With a gaping hole too deep to fill
You have nurtured an existence, so solitaire
One starved of affection, in need of care
Quiet is my enemy, loud the ticking clock
Urging my life to take stock
......