Throughout the years friends have been few,
(But when loyal, one friend will do;)
I never got close enough to make foes,
'I kept my distance' - as the saying goes

No birds, cats or dogs live in my house,
And I hesitate to count that mouse
That I've seen scampering down the hall.
(How dare he breach my castle wall!)
I fear he soon will  have a mishap . . .
Morning will find him dead in the trap.

But what resentment swells inside me
Thinking of all that's been denied me:
True love, contentment, happiness,
A hand to hold, a warm caress,
The passion with which I long to be kissed . . .
Alas! I've none of these treasures to list.
Such poverty I'm ashamed to declare,
My heart is starving . . . the cupboard is bare

Well, I guess my inventory's complete,
A grim tally, more sorrowful than sweet;
Ah, but then what right have I to complain?
I've a vast surplus of sorrow and pain,
A broken heart and buckets filled with tears . . .
What a stockpile I've amassed o'er the years!

But if Fate could rewrite my Book of Days
Changing these tears to laughter and bouquets,
This dreary house, haunted by lonely hours
Would be a dwelling filled with mirth and flowers

Love, please come find me, there's no time to waste,  
Heed the clock! It's chiming eleven ---  
Scarcely time to savor but one last taste  
Of the Sweet Elixir of Heaven  

Though Autumn's love would be no less sublime
Than the rapture Spring's love can command,
As Life's hourglass marks the passage of time,
I'm panicked by the fast-falling sand!

No longer can pace be arbitrary . . .
Hope's river will soon begin to freeze;
Hurry Love, do your best not to tarry,
If need be, crawl on your hands and knees!

Faintly I hear your song in the distance --
Your divine nocturne seducing me,
And I, in my desolate existence,
Can no longer abide patiently

Winter stands ready to enter the gate,
Reminding me of Life's shortening days;
Come light the flame, Love,  before it's too late,
Lest my tears of despair douse the blaze

Soon Death will scribe my name upon his scroll.
The sun is setting . . .  let us make haste;
No longer can you and I leisurely stroll.
Come quickly, Love, we've no time to waste!

Being alone,  I stare at the sky,
Wishing its laws were mine to command;
I would dim the moon's refulgent light --
Might that help Heaven to understand?

Just as the moon's radiance would be missed
If it were abducted from its realm,
So my ship sails with no guiding light --
Too long I've stood alone at the helm

Would the dreary woodland not rejoice
Hearing the song of one faithful bird?
Yet, alone I trudge down Life's harsh path,
Deprived of Love's reassuring word

Being alone, I find no reason
To greet the dawning day with a smile;
I see no sense in praying for strength
To carry my cross another mile

Being alone, I cannot believe
There's a God who feels pity for me;
Without Love's light my ship navigates
In the darkness . . .  and I'm lost at sea

And if it's a sin to renounce faith
In a God who cares,  then cast your stone!
No form of chastisement could be worse
Than this bitter pain of being alone

Are you still recalling that dispute
You had days ago with a loved one?
It's time unkind words were rendered mute,
Lay them in their grave -- what's done is done

What anguish a quarrel can dispense!
A snide remark, then a **** reply;
Do those hurtful words still cause offense?
Bind them to swift wings and let them fly

Time alone cannot heal broken hearts
Or bring comfort to a shattered soul;
Gently gather all the broken parts,
Mend them with Love's threads to make them whole

Focus on the things that make you smile ---
Words and deeds that make happiness flow.
When bitter thoughts taunt you with their guile
Toss them to the wind and let them go!

If perhaps it were my circumstance
That misfortune pierced me with its lance,
And hunger held me in its embrace,
You'd not see tears running down my face,
For surely meager portions of bread
Might bring angst, but not be cause for dread

Or if the confines of my domain
Were bleak and dour, provoking disdain,
Though disheartened I'd not chastise Fate,
(Far worse things pass through its dreadful gate)
I need only ponder the sad plight
Of the homeless wandering in the night

But should I have no one to love me ---
I swear by all the stars above me
I would curse Fate to the depths of Hell,  
(Do you sense this tale will not end well?)
Better I be swallowed by the tide,
For life without love I could not abide!

Well, what can I say . . . I should have known,
Fate is callous, a rogue carved of stone!
This was a dare it could not ignore ---
Now love no longer knocks at my door.
Vanquished are the joys that once were mine.
**** you, heartless Fate -- you've crossed the line!

My mind's like a seafaring vessel,
Ready to sink with an overload
Of volatile rhymes that scuffle and wrestle
And at any moment may explode

Heaven knows I've tried to stem the tide,
But every thought turns to poetry;
I fear, while interred on some peaceful hillside,
I'll be rhyming through eternity!

Too often the lonely heart's dreams are hurled
Into the depths of despair's roiling sea;
But soon it finds peace in a phantom world
Of shadows mimicking love's ecstasy

Why should Loneliness conjure up such fears?
When I feel alone, with no direction,
I need only gaze in my pool of tears
And I'm comforted by my reflection

In the night I may wander paths unknown
With the luster of the moon to guide me;
Pity me not, thinking I walk alone --
My shadow walks faithfully beside me

A Spring morning may find me wading rills
In a vale where the meadow rue stands tall;
I cry "I love you" to the distant hills,
And some phantom lover echoes my call

Or I may write a torrid love letter,
In a bottle I'll cast it to the sea.
What joy to be freed of despair's fetter
When the tide returns that missive to me

Curse of loneliness! no such thing need be.
But how do we bear the pain? you may ask;
Look to desperate hearts for the remedy,
Our senses have been well-trained for the task!