Our Chosen Solitude..... Poem by RIC BASTASA

well i have learned
to live alone
to depend upon myself
and to rely no one
else

it had taken much time
upon those ember skies
up and below me
it was as though as was
fully roasted by
grief

sorrow is sonorous
soon it has become monotonous
until such time that
it has become so natural
and so ordinary that
it does not affect us anymore

and then we live
well in the numbness of our hands
our feet on those fire
and red coals
walk smoothly without much
fanfare

well, we learned
we lived so well
drama is gone
the curtains fall
the theater is closed

we are here in this
park of life
merely sitting on one of
those benches
watching all those
who pass us by

we do not wave our hands
neither did they
we do not greet each other
feeling too preoccupied
with our chosen
solitude