[Verse: E L U C I D]
Aloneness is different from loneliness
Loneliness means you want somebody
Loneliness means you have not planned to stand somewhere with other people gone
Loneliness never has a bright color—perhaps it is grey
Loneliness does not have a lovely sound—it has an under-buzz
Or it does not have sound
When it does not have a sound, I like it least of all
But aloneness is delicious
Sometimes aloneness is delicious
Almost like a red, small apple that is cold
An apple that is small and sweet and round and cold and for just you
Or like loving a pond in summer
There is the soft water, looking a little silver, dark, and kind
You lean most carefully, and you like the single picture there
Rest is under your eyes, and above your eyes
And your brain stops its wrinkles, and is peaceful as a windless pond
You make presents to yourself—presents of clouds and sunshine, and the dandelions that are there
Aloneness is like that
Sometimes
Sometimes, I think it's not possible to alone
You are with you
And pulse and nature keep you company
The little minutes are there, building into hours
The minutes that are the bricks of days and years
I know another aloneness
Within it there is someone, someone to ask and tell
One who is Mary, Willy, John or James or Joan
Whose other name is love