I separate myself
And go where no one can hear me,
Where I am permeated by silence.

Where the crisp water gallops over boulders,
Waving white flags as it bellows heartily,
I feel that I’ve had my fill of affection.

Sweet embraces and an excess of tender words
Are intrusions on my reticence
And my only desire is sanguine seclusion.

Taking care, I ponder how to slip away
From well-intentioned hands
That reach for my hips
And into my immaculate solitude.

Maybe I will step into the water
And evaporate into droplets
To be carried away through valleys,
Mile-wide rivers, and back
To the collective, boundless sea.

No one will miss me
And I will be as I was always meant,
A thoughtless drop in something larger,
And far more consequential than myself.