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Walls Surround

With time, they reach higher and thicken.
Are they meant to keep me in or others out?

Either way, they bring peace and I am content.

It is an activity that is no more than a game
without rules or win/lose outcomes

which is played in an empty stadium
with no scoreboard by a single participant

who has no incentive
to complete the game or to even begin it.
.
Ergo: The Mutterings of an Old Hermit.

There is nothing more to say, Elizabeth (whoever you are)!
I depart from your sight and being, Elizabeth.

My action is best for both of us, Elizabeth.
Especially for me.

Fie! I slam the door behind me!

I am gone.

Is there a poet in this house?
Is there one who speaks with rhyme and meter?

I think not, unless it is the dog,
but I cannot point to her
since she speaks only to those
with more than two feet.

The Muse turns away
towards Schenectady.

I wait with patience for its return.

I know I am leading a quiet life
when my year’s most exciting event was
Microsoft’s July 29th release of Windows 10.

This is not a day to be out.

There are demons afloat
I do not wish to confront.

They are a frightful lot
even when they are not.

So, I will remain hidden since
hidden is a prudent place for me

Today.

Three red tulip blossoms
Return each spring

And we greet each other silently
As we have done for 30 years.

***

Petals drop
Stems dry

The tulip withdraws within itself
To prepare for reawakening
At its prescribed time.

when a hot woman meets a hermit
one of them is going to
change.

I have not met a hot woman
since I have become a hermit
so I cannot confirm.

But, even at my age,
the possibility provokes
a glimmer in my eye
(but only in my eye).

Ah, you ladies of the night
and you of the day.

All of you.

Back then, I did not know for what you really wished
and now, my age provides immunity and I longer care.

For tonight my comfort lies
not within your embraces

but in a solitary bed
with a single pillow for my head