Power of Words

As more of my poetry gets out in the world, as I enter the field of poetry/journal therapy, I must be conscious of a few things:

1) First do no harm
2) Say only what is necessary, kind, and true
3) What has the power to heal has the power to hurt
4) Words bear power in their lucidity and universality. Sometimes readers think that if they resonate with the words they are also resonating with the writer; they believe they know the writer and make assumptions of false intimacy. Beware. Be careful. Be care-filled.

Am I best that way?

"I am lonely, lonely
I was born to be lonely
I am best that way..." ~ William Carlos Williams

Was I born to fly solo
cries the red-tailed hawk
as she canvases the desert sky?

Was I born to be alone
asks the single thistle in the sand,
her scarlet center aching to bloom?

Was I born to be lonely
coos the mourning dove,
her song echoing through redrock caves

And what of the one
cluster of paintbrush,
the one magpie perched
on a manzanita branch,
the mariposa lily,
cream white petals
flung open to the heat
of each day?

What of the one poet
hiking alone
with a single pack
a single pen
and a single page?
She is alone by choice
she notes
it is best that way
when the desert is in full bloom.
It is best that way,
alone sometimes
she is best that way,
alone.
She is best
alone, or not, but for now
she is
and she is no less
alone.