The Lonely Man Poem by Keith Oliver

A lonely man wonders through the woods tonight
Snowflakes angrily brazing his uncovered face
He shows no expression of care for this as he walks along
He knows not where he is going
But the motivation of the unknown fuels his morbid journey

As the already weak sun dips below the horizon
The man tightens his coat of sadness
Looking back, he sees his footsteps of progress
“Progress to what? “, he asks
His thoughts of uncertainty invade his optimistic mind

His steps become slower as the wind and snow demand him to halt
He knows the result of this journey will be deemed his fault
So he must carry on for fear of no one even knowing he was gone
He can only laugh as he realizes the moral of his own story
For he knows he spent his entire life in solitude of his own choosing

Howls around him do not hinder his movement
He senses the wolves closing in on him
He embraces what is to come
As the abused society he so left
Surrounds this lone man

Man finally halts
Turning around to meet the gaze of these vicious wolves
He notices his tracks of hope are gone
He realizes he was never moving
Before he can cry out
The wolves end his life with the bite of reality
Before the light from his eyes escapes him
The man dies in horror knowing that these wolves of society
Were once his closest friends

His last conscious thought lingers on the people he forgot
When the man thought he had gotten to the top
The cost of knowing people's worth
Will be a lesson the man will never forget