Lonelier in Company

This small bubble of isolation
Recycles my every breath,
Into the fresh air, like that found
In an open meadow in early spring
Yet it is darker than nothingness itself.
My movement is restricted
By the casket walls that hide
Me away. Craving light, I break free.
I dig my way to the surface
Of a planet inhabited by beings
That claim to be friendly.
Their stares become my new walls and
Their lungs siphon each breath from my own.
I need to crawl back into my box,
Least I might be able to breathe once more

• From my first poetry book, Restless Reflections, published February 2018