Loner

I have based my life on solitude,
hence, have few friends.
Those I have,
have are my private lifelines.

Now, I’m retired
and am able to spend time alone.
My wife
keeps an active schedule.

I write, I garden, I read.
That is my life,
except for medical appointments
and limited travel.

It’s a life I’ve earned
and I am satisfied with it.
Gardening is a task
that keeps me humble.

The hours spent kneeling in mud
and rubbing mud into my knees
is itself an act of creation
defying death.