loneliness seems to me like a pet
that i carry with me or me with it
on a leash made of dull and achy sinew
joy stretched to a thin strip of flesh
i pull on nightly with my left
if i want to feel like its someone else
fulfillment found in the back of a magazine
or with my internet "date"
we have met before many times
solitude broken by walks
where i am greeted by the many strangers
whom glimpse at me so impersonally
with glib smiles and vacant eyes
I march, doll drums beating
to the sound of nothingness
on a landscape hazy and clouded over
a life on an escalator
that brings me up then leaves me down
rushing from one box and back to the other
always held fast by my leash
and always, hoping to find you
my beam of light
in this dark corner
to share with you the unfettered joy
i think i would feel with you