Solitude

Solitude

In solitude may virtue be,

To fly alone, unfettered, free,

Such strength of spirit's not in me,

And so I search for company.

A spirit I knew not before,

Has filled my mind, my heart and more,

And I am as a drowning man,

That spirit as a distant shore.

In her I have glimpsed happiness,

In her, the end of life's long quest,

And know that I, in her have found,

The only place my soul can rest.

In her I see so much of me,

And all the things that I would be,

She is the greater part of me,

Without her I am less than me.

But there the images all break,

As from my dreams I must awake,

For steps that chance my heart to break,

Are steps I never dare to take.

Knows she not my spirit weeps?

An endless vigil, I must keep,

And hope that someday she'll be mine,

But hope is fading all the time.

So I, a clown, by joy disowned,

Must to the circus ring alone,

Wishing we were joined in whole,

Her friendship's mine, her heart's her own.

They with others' heart make free,

That path in life is not for me,

One spirit I seek for eternity,

But fate has ruled her not for me.