You'll Never Meet Me

I love being alone.
It's the quiet that keeps me safe,
far from the reach of prying eyes,
far from hands that wish to touch
what they’ll never hold.
You will never see my face,
never hear my laughter float
across the room like a distant whisper.
You’ll never watch my smile break open,
shining briefly before I take it back into hiding.
My essence is not for you,
or for anyone who thinks they deserve
to grasp something so fleeting, so infinite.

You'll never have conversations with me
where words unfold like petals of wisdom.
The kind of wisdom that could teach you
something about the world,
if only you were worthy of receiving it.
But you’re not.
I carry this intellect like an ancient tome,
each page turned only when I allow it,
only when it’s meant to be revealed.
You’ll never be blessed with the privilege
to know the depth of thought that lies beneath
the surface of my quiet, wandering gaze.

I am like the red-tailed hawk
soaring alone in the...