STRANGER

I sit like a mountain, unperturbed.
Faltering as I search for myself…
Who is this stranger that I face?
Remaining in the shadows
Wanting to come in, yet hesitating.

On a starless night ..haunting, mystical,
I stretch my hand out into the darkness.
Grope in vain for someone to touch it
And no one does.
Nor do I welcome any.

Silence is a friend tonight.
I need no other.
My thoughts the only company I share.
They flicker like stoked embers.
They glow and will not die.

Time is not my master this moment.
I am content in my own world.
With the sky my dome, though dark
Enveloping me...summer’s warmth
My blanket – caressing, soothing balm.

I am a prisoner of my imagination
A figment created from nowhere
Building sand castles that crumble
Catching planes that never land
Constantly moving… never arriving.

Someday I’ll come to know myself.
Perhaps at the edge of life,
I’ll make peace with this familiar stranger
View the choices I’ve made
As one whole tapestry
I alone wove for myself.

.............................©Jotte: June 7, 1999