It is the loner's duty to be miserable

If not him, who else to be so?

Winds strike his face, whipping,

But wince he does not

As he stands tall, firm,

Like a tower reaching to the heavens,

Grasping, stretching,

Sensing a high power not there.

Or perhaps the opposite?

Of course the pessimist, this loner be.

One who feels not the pain

Of God's airy fist against his face

On a dark, stormy night.

One oblivious to the razor cuts of rain

Pounding relentlessly towards

His half-grown silvering beard

And ungloved, unmasked, unprotected hands.

Perhaps this is a punishment

For pushing life itself away

And letting the puzzles of his career

Devour him whole until nothing

But an empty shell of a sarcastic,

Cruel genius doctor is left over.

Though life does not ignore him, mind.

It rests before his eyes, tempting,

Showing what may be, what could have been,

And the past occurrences,

Impossible to change.

This lonely religion-deprived man

Stands strong and stubborn,

Occasionally dipping a toe

Into the pond, but hardly ever diving in.

This pond, created by the tears,

Sweat, and love of many,

Made to move by the ever powerful wind,

Is sometimes temperamental.

At times this pond barely tickles

The tips of feet, while still more often

It rears its head and bites

At the thighs of those who perch

By the water's edge, trying desperately

To draw them under.

But why should this miserable man

Bow before the howling wind of religion?

He has experienced the dangers

Of swimming in the deep end;

Though exciting it seems

At first glance, you run the risk

Or drowning, and never again

Arising to the surface.

This man arose, but suffers through a curse,

A curse of remaining wet and cold,

And no matter the blankets

He surrounds himself with,

He can never appease his ailment.

Many a time this man's friends

Crowd around him,

Sharing their body heat,

Reminding him they are there

(Since he sometimes forgets this fact).

And on occasion, these allies will join

This man for a swim, and maybe,

Just maybe, this man is not

As alone as he appears to be.