AM I ALONE?

BY R. MIRANDA

Being
in a writing group, I dare say it’s impossible to
imagine ever being truly alone —
a connection exists that is evident.
Each sentence written, spoken, shared,
become the ties that bind us together in thought and action.
Not to say our thoughts and actions are the same,
for in truth they are as diverse as the stars we see
in the night’s sky.
There are a multitude of poets and writers,
both known and yet to be known, that have pondered this query:
Am I alone?
John Donne writes, “No man is an island.”
Joy Harjo waxes poetically about “a refuge in the smallest of places”
while paying homage to “Emily’s” song…
And Yeyin Chin – well it’s plain to see, he gets it. 
“It,” of course, being the cosmic connection
to all things past-present-future. 
A comedic cast of characters,
and while Stressla’s consent echoes true,
his supporting cast includes a cacophony of unscripted roles
that are yet undefined. 
As for “I,” “I” am but the narrator of this literary work
written in the first-person singular.
Complete by myself,
yet I never stand alone.
I trot on within this land of nightmares
saddled with guilt and shame.
First, reluctantly – then eagerly taking responsibility
for all my wrongdoing.
Yet not out of nobility, just logically
there’s no one left to blame.
Confinement and the thought of being free
have had a way of challenging me to see beyond
the blinding presence of guilt,
to see the social connections that otherwise remained obscured. 
Then slow, all so slowly, truth emerges
and in that moment:
Guilt forsakes me. 
And I am left alone with truth.
I am cold,
for truth is but a light
that radiates without warmth. 
It is like a new coat,
tailored from the threadbare fabric of life.
A new pair of shoes
that require much use,
in order to be comfortable.
I march on. 
My tempo now askew. 
I peer into darkness as to escape from this light…
searching for something yet known…
beyond redemption…
innocence.
Guilt has forsaken me
and I am left alone. | RM

R. MIRANDA WAS BORN IN SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA. HE IS NATIVE AMERICAN (MAYAN, APACHE, YAQUI) AND SPANISH/ROMANIAN. HIS WRITING IS A FORM OF POSITIVE FOCUS AND HEALING AND EXPRESSION.