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My own lone self (ghazal)

I wanted a minute’s breath to quiet my hectic own self
I wanted the voices held away from my frenzy-prone self

I thought, let me close my eyes and hold my face in my hands
Just like that I was in a world apart with my unknown self

It was meant to be only a moment, to still my jangled thoughts
But I stayed there, unhooked, unplugged, with my dreamzone self

I’m a little girl. I’m a gawky teen. I’m a weird aging woman
I’m a dancing fool sitting stone still alone with my own grown self

Just me and the quiet. Just me held safe in my own cool hands
A circle of peace around this jangly shaky-bone self

The magic is usually deep in the snaking threads that keep us webbed
Tonight I cut them all to spend time with my sole lone self

I’m a silent rebellion, a party of one, my face in my strong cool hands
A prayer of my own in this alien world, hauling home my far-flown self
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