I stand alone
Beside the sea.
I watch the winds
Who follow me.
Stars are silent
In my heart,
And the whole world
Stands apart.
I sing softly
To myself,
Humming elf songs
From the shelf.
People glance at
Me and frown,
Puzzled, frightened.
I look down.
People pass me
By and they
Cannot grasp me
Look away.
Sometimes someone
Hesitates,
Looks at me and
Wonders, waits.
Sometimes I hold
Out my hand,
With myself
Inside it and
Hope somebody
Understands.
Saying this is
Who I am.
Very rarely
Someone sees me,
And I barely
Feel it frees me.
They perceive the
Hopes I haunt.
They believe the
Worlds I want.
Warily I
Squint and smile.
Someone loves me
For awhile.
Then they see the
Volatile
Things in me
Who I beguile,
And they tire of
How I grieve,
Lost like madness,
And they leave.
I sing softly
By myself,
Placing pledges
On the shelf.
Putting promises
Away.
People say them.
They don't stay.
Watch the sky
Grow bright and blue.
I don't want to
Frighten you.
Watch the worlds
Whisk words away.
Don't believe
The things you say.
I grow guarded --
Build a wall
Of smiles and irony.
I fall
Friendless, free
Into the far
And foreign sea
Of who you are.
And watch a star.
