"I am a recluse with a good excuse"

Shadow

A surfeit of so-called society
With all its control and complication
Seems smothering in its ubiquity
I choose to live like an island nation
Albeit one uninhabited by
Anybody else but my cat and me

Leave us in peace and quiet Fred and I
And convene community on your own
Let terms of individuality
Apply to us as we commune alone

I am a recluse with a good excuse
Surprises make me nervous simply said
I will see people when I am ready
But to be interrupted seems abuse
Makes my house-of-cards psyche unsteady
And generally seems of little use

When I feel in the mood I clean up well
But with my books and cat find all I need
Too many people often seem Sartre's hell
As they rut and riot and feud and feed

I like it when my poetry is read
And like to read myself now and again
I hope to still be read when I am dead
Of course it will not matter to me then
Still I suppose one seeks to leave one's mark
If only as a shadow in the dark

+Steven Curtis Lance



Copyright MMVII