Solitude
                                
                             Alone.
                       My heart resonates
                    a hollow and hard meter.
                    From eviscerated manhood
                     to childlike wonderment
                          at the stars
                             I wish.
                    The pounding grows deeper
                      as the trees whisper
                             secrets
                        among themselves.
                   In the company of crickets
                             I walk.
                    Pallid whiskers of grass
                 goad my feet into reminding me
                        that I am alive.
                   The empty void grows wider
                         as clouds part,
                    begrudgingly transmitting
                    the moon's cold message.
                     It glances off my brow
                   and dances across the water
                         with such haste
                  there is no time for sharing.
                           Footsteps.
                     This well-trodden path
                   now desolate and overgrown
                       meanders aimlessly,
                  swallowing all who travel its
                         forbidden coil.
                            Isolated
                  bells clamor in the distance
                       longing for someone
                       to heed their call.
                    As the cold grass burrows
                         under wet sand,
                            I answer,
                  shedding layers of protection
                     built over generations.
               The flitted musicians of the night
                   strike up a rousing chorus,
                     and bid a fond farewell
                       as I embark on yet
                         another journey
                             alone.