Alone is the New Black by Alison McKenzie
I wake
Next to my most trusted bedfellows,
Lovers who've spent many a night
Snuggled in my covers,
Who've surrounded me
During my stormiest seasons,
Who've seen me at my worst
And lived to tell the tale
Via dog-eared edges
And smudged musings.
Those books by beloved authors, and
Empty notepads
Hungry for my words.
I glean from them,
I speak to them,
And they to me -
We have the most
Fascinating exchanges.
And they never move
Before my own dance
Rearranges their order
In my world.
They never complain
When I lay them aside
To be replaced by
Their human counterparts.
They simply wait for me
To don black again,
That mourning when
Relationships fail,
And I find myself
Recurrently alone.
Of course they know
They are always in fashion,
Classics that never lose
Their appeal
In a world gone mad
Without partners.
08/31/2014 Author's Note: My longevity may end up being defined by words, and words alone.
Posted on 09/01/2014 Copyright © 2024 Alison McKenzie
Member Comments on this Poem |
Posted by Quentin S Clingerman on 09/01/14 at 03:26 PM To me you use one of the best ways of dealing with loss and grief over relationships gone awry--writing! And you do it so well. |
Posted by Kristina Woodhill on 09/02/14 at 03:26 AM This is lovely, Ali. |
Posted by Rob Littler on 09/02/14 at 04:04 PM Longevity is defined by its demise. The quality of YOUR length and width is nothing compared to your volume, of which you have immense gain, tremendous middle, and deep low end. |
Posted by Ken Harnisch on 09/02/14 at 04:39 PM I think them perhaps the luckiest lovers who ever lived, to be that close to you and your Muse, Alison, at this point in your writing life. |
Posted by Chris Sorrenti on 09/02/14 at 05:15 PM Sad but powerful, moving capture of romantic loneliness. Great twist to the euphemism in the title also! |
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