The house smelled of cats, mildew, loneliness.
Through empty rooms, the wind blew loneliness.
Unrecognizable from high school pics,
each year we lose hair. Comb through loneliness.
Startled awake. Fragments of dream cling to
her skin – dark water, canoe, loneliness.
Always the woman pimped, dumped, or murdered,
the star’s sharp cheekbones imbue loneliness
with glamour. From party to bar she
wanders, compass set to true loneliness.
Faded armchair of marriage. You settled,
her friend says. No, I outgrew loneliness.
Porch light. Candelabra. White-tailed deer.
Full moon’s gifts – new wisdom, new loneliness.
Like my post, we plead. Flatter me. Stroke me
through the screen. Help me subdue loneliness.
Boulders soften with moss. Savings accounts
gather interest. Hearts accrue loneliness.
Sullen teen waves away her laughing, club-
bound friends. You do you. I’ll do loneliness.
Swastikas on one side, River to Sea
on the other. Ache of Jew loneliness.
From the rain, learn to sing while vanishing.
From the wood of the past, hew loneliness.
In Stone’s cauldron of words – sex, loved pets, Mom,
sky. Jay’s faded snake tattoo. Loneliness.