Introvert Solitaire

Claudia's tending all night long over at the D'Verse Poets Pub, where for Meeting the Bar tonight, she's opening the mike to any and all who would like to share their thoughts and reflections about the Beautiful Solitude.


This is a very interesting theme for me personally.  Growing up I was the epitome of what is defined as a social butterfly.  I had to always be on the go.  Even when I was at home, alone, I was on the phone, moving from one person to the next.  It seemed as if I had no choice but to keep myself connected.

Then, and I can't really pinpoint where or when it occurred, but things just grew to such a level of exhaustion, I found the slightest interactions would drain me of all I had.  Vitality would return but only after a nice period of relaxation, where a mindlessness took hold of me and take me to points unseen, sort of freezing me, in a state of nothingness, unaware of everything around, and yet, completely forgiving me for having ignored the introvert within.

Somehow, a shift had taken place, moving from extroversion to introversion, and I had no idea how it happened.  All I can say, is that alone time is something I cherish more than anything.  Whether it's spent watching television, reading a book, listening to music, writing or simply blanking out and staring deep into the walls, allowing the mind to completely take recess, or, where my imagination takes the opportunity to work through ideas the conscious mind had brought up earlier in the day.  This last notion, has a somewhat similar effect as when you think about something before going to sleep at night, allowing your unconscious mind, the opportunity in its dream-states, to sort it out, and oftentimes, finding that when you awoke the next morning, a possible answer to your question had been provided.

I could go on for a while discussing this odd paradigm shift, but truth be told, I have really no explanation for the shift.  I've mentioned this already, but repeat it only because of how baffling it is, and how important the notion is to me.

I could also go on and on about how that old self, while knowing it did exist, and many of the memories from such times are clearly available as they had occurred, I find myself, after reliving one of these moments, to be exhausted.  Yet, even thought I can remember some of the times when I was an extrovert, I have to admit, they feel like fiction, in almost every aspect, except, again, I cannot deny their one-time existence, because I know they did exist.

I think there's a place for being both an extrovert and an introvert, in fact i think we all hold each of these in us somehow, with one being more dominant, that's all.

So, all this backstory behind me know, I thought I would write a description of one of the things I find I do quite often.  I sit still facing an empty wall and allow myself to drift away, or more likely, I am found laying in bed, eyes open, staring at the ceiling, permitting my mind to go wherever it chose to.  In such activities, I believe I find a sense of solitude, perhaps not the kind one gets when out and about in nature or in prayer, yet, it is a type of solitude nevertheless:

INTROVERT SOLITAIRE

listen to ‘Introvert Solitaire (Poem)’ on Audioboo

Introvert Solitaire

Standing in solitude

Is like a blissful sea, where the

Ragged weights

Atop the chest—

Limbs shake free

Each their now

Blackened leaves

To where you stop

Close the door

Behind and sigh…

Moving to the bed

Fully clothed as was,

Breathing in holistic

Rhythms…waiting for

The waves of paralysis

To lift their untimely

Shores…Focusing,

Intently upon the

Individualized minutia

Of the long crack that

Runs alongside the ceiling…

And in that crack, grow

Succumbed…transported

To the world of the imagined…

Where peace is simple, easy

And well-granted to any and

All who seek it out.  The stories

Are deeper, yet without prerequisites

Do its characters speak…instead

The only talk when spoken to, where

You realize, there is so much untapped

Potential in gesturing…where one could,

If so desired, effectively communicate

Detailed instructions, simply from the

Effective use of head movements…finally…

As the crack begins

                  To close

The   space         seems        to      separate

                           Allowing     the    air

It’s    chance       at      a       brand-new choice

Inhalation  of vitality    once  anew         grasped

         Where        it       will    stay

Open          and   free            until  some

         Unknowing          soul

Events to invent a reasoning         for harboring their expectations

         Upon my port…in a storm of unease

That prematurely stifles creativity….

Never do I wish I was the one I was before…that person Is a stranger, I know, no longer, anymore…he barely shows in memory…in fact…despite the knowing of the factuality…. he feels like a figment of a made up wish fulfillment fantasy…yet it’s more like a nightmare

And I have to pause

Into solitude

Crystals and all

Never claiming

A fortress was behind me

Securing me deeply, but

Out, as super,

Will I one day crawl,

Is the question of it all,

Isn’t it?