- The Comfort of Anonymity -

By John Herlihy

Some people take delight in the comfort of the crowd;

The presence of sheer numbers wraps them in a shroud.

Whether in sunlight or under clouds, they enjoy invisibility;

There amid the maddening crowd, they escape the visibility.

Safe in their own thoughts, tucked away in the shadows,

They can escape the bile of their more raucous fellows.

With no expectations coming from the bellowing horde;

One can rest content without feeling a need to be adored.

When I say “some people” I am speaking of my own way;

I prefer to live my brief life without giving myself away.

Some people take delight in the floodlights of the stage;

All the world is their theater and they its medieval page.

Even when in the wings, they tingle with sweet anticipation;

Knowing full well they are about to make their presentation.

They bask in the spotlight without any feelings of shame;

They leave it to others to take up the slack and the blame.

Being the center of attention makes them feel they exist,

To sit at life’s banquet without the hunger of Oliver Twist.

They shout into the rafters to hear the echo of me, me, me;

The last thing they want in life is the silence of anonymity.

I must confess I am one of those “some people” I describe,

Taking small comfort in criticizing all those I have decried.

As a writer and poet, I have donned the cloak of anonymity;

I write what I want without claiming my readers see me.

In person, I say nothing of myself, just go about my work;

My anonymity may give the appearance I am only a jerk.

But when I sit down to write, my heart emotions pour forth;

From some deep well I confess is mine, whatever its worth.

I just put my name to the work while pretending it isn’t me;

Thus, I still take some comfort from the cover of anonymity.

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(c) John Herlihy January 2019