Party for One

You like to drink alone,

You say,

With just a mirror or two

For company.

No one complains,

Which makes sense

If there’s no one around.

A party for one

sounds fun.

It’s select:

The only bouncer is you;

You double as barman, drunk,

Barfly and guest,

Downing your own cocktails

In infinite space.

All that room

And no need to share it:

A solipsist by choice,

Millionaire of emptiness.

Like champagne in the rain,

It might catch on,

If all your friends leave town

At once;

Or you never had any

In the first place.

And then I came along

And ruined it all

By ringing the door bell.

Home Fires

Does anyone believe,

Returning home,

Your tale of different worlds?

Because you weren’t dreaming near them, maybe,

Sharing their relief on waking.

So why care now? you ask.

Perhaps you were never there at all.

Their eyes say as much:

Always somewhere else.

And now?

A stranger shocked to find the fire still burning.