Bridges of Life

A Selection of Poems

By James Bolgiano

Lost In My Introversion

I heard the music and watched the people dance in the night,
Clanging glasses and laughing, silhouetted by the moonlight.
Whiskey and wine soothed the soul, inhibitions running low.
Lovers sensually embraced, surrounded by an illuminant glow.
With desires in their hearts and visions in their heads
Of silky sheets and kisses within warm beds.

Amongst others, I sit alone, watching as they go by,
Feeling invisible, rendering only an occasional sigh.
I don’t feel the laughter and playfulness that looms,
Lost within the crowd of a smoke filled room.
Incessant joy and camaraderie are foreign to me.
I don’t comprehend life without bounds, letting go, or feeling free.

Distanced by my silence, I observe the world go by.
Lost in my introversion, afraid to risk, afraid to try.
Anxious of being visible, hidden in a non-maternal womb;
A living man, already dead, inside his self-imposed tomb;
A non-participant in life, behind anonymity I hide;
In few, my thoughts and feelings do I confide.

There’s dissatisfaction in isolation and being alone
But this is me, and the personality I own.
Change is not easy, believe me, I’ve tried.
To a different set of rules, do I abide.
What’s uncomfortable for others, is natural for me.
In the safety of isolation, there is no risk, you see.