When Solitude Becomes Loneliness
by: Joseph Gesky
The stray weed, pushing through cracks
in concrete, still has the honeybee visit
its flowers and carries its pollen to reproduce
in a less austere surrounding, the palette
of autumn saturated in the falling
leaves scraping across an asphalt road,
racing in lanes across an imaginary finishing line,
while the bare branches get ready for winter,
knowing this barrenness is only temporary.
Instead I think of a solitary bird sitting
on an orange dam above the water level
in the middle of a river, looking outward,
too sick to make the annual southern migration,
or getting a social media notification, reminding me
to wish an old friend happy birthday, visiting
his profile to see people posting on his timeline
even though he has been dead for two years.
in concrete, still has the honeybee visit
its flowers and carries its pollen to reproduce
in a less austere surrounding, the palette
of autumn saturated in the falling
leaves scraping across an asphalt road,
racing in lanes across an imaginary finishing line,
while the bare branches get ready for winter,
knowing this barrenness is only temporary.
Instead I think of a solitary bird sitting
on an orange dam above the water level
in the middle of a river, looking outward,
too sick to make the annual southern migration,
or getting a social media notification, reminding me
to wish an old friend happy birthday, visiting
his profile to see people posting on his timeline
even though he has been dead for two years.
About the Author
Joseph Geskey resides outside Columbus, OH. He is grateful for the wisdom, strength, and generosity he gathers from the brave community of writers and artists who labor over works of art without any promise of worldly recognition. His first collection of poems, “Alms for the Ravens,” will be published by Main Street Rag Publishing Company in 2024.