Singular Choice

Singular Choice

I need no partner,
Want no comrade.
A caterpillar’s nest
Is for one.
Room for only one set
Of developing wings.
Alone,
I am heedless,
And go about the task
Of discovery.
My song lifts unsullied,
No jangled nerves
Or offended senses.
No mask nor mold
Imposed or assumed.
I am free.
I walk by myself.
The sea is my company.
The mountain,
The forest.
And I am content.
My strengths
And my weakness
Known by choice.
Or not known.
Defiant words,
Proud tilt,
Stubborn aloofness,
Arrogant spirit.
And if I walk alone?
What faint longing
Tickles my heart?
Does the caterpillar
Dream inside its shell
Of flying in a cloud
Of its brethren?
A single part
Of the color mosaic,
That makes up a meadow.
Only painted
Once the pieces are whole
In themselves.