The Loner
He walks the edges
like a shoreline’s indentation at low tide,
the world’s heavy footprints
pressed deep in the sand beside him
yet never demanding his own.
He keeps what he needs folded neatly,
a room that warms,
bread that stays what it is, not what it’s not,
clothes that do not speak louder than he must.
Those who travel the bright sidewalks pass by
carrying armor disguised as expectation,
centuries‑old suits trimmed like banners,
hair sculpted to the angle of approval,
briefcases snapping shut like rules in leather skins.
They step through turnstiles of ritual,
tollgates of nodding yes,
as if the path itself requires tribute.
But wander far enough and the world slows;
moss gathers where no choices echo,
pines lean in like patient listeners,
and the wind—untethered by any task—
braids its own stories into the grass.
Here, even shadows rest differently,
as if they, too, prefer
a life unmeasured by applause.
He knows another route,
a quiet footpath that runs parallel
yet never competes,
where stillness is not refusal
but a clearing,
where solitude is not exile
but the soft room inside a shell
that chooses its own tide.
And when the day ends,
he sets no lantern in the window,
not out of hiding,
but because the dusk knows his name.
He eats, he rests, he listens
to the simple hum of a life unclaimed,
and wonders, just a little,
whether silence chooses him…
or whether you might hear it calling, too?
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But your wandering here was really the essence of savoring being alone and enjoying what it has to offer. Like me, in a way. But I do miss those long walks out at the state park where it was just me and all of the animals.
Ron
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The bottom line though is we were not created to be alone and unloved. In this state-of-being there is less empathy in one’s life, there’s a tendency to struggle with self-esteem, a tendency to self-sabotage relationships, and a feeling at some point that you just may be an unlovable person. Hopefully… this is only a chapter in your life story, not the ending. At least it doesn’t have to be. Perhaps justifying being unloved should run a far distant second to what the negative ramifications might be of never learning how to love. In my experiences most people are alone and unloved because their self-love is far greater than their ability to love others. Thomas Jefferson proffered: “Self-love is the sole antagonist of virtue, leading us constantly by our propensities to self-gratification in violation to our moral duties to others.” Amen!
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Thank you for your honest thoughts Mr. Bateman, and for encouraging thought in the reader. Intelligent creative dialogue in this community has become almost non-existent. rlc