The Tranquility of Solitude
[Based on the prompt: “Do you like being alone?”] The sky shines blue, the trees beam green The crickets chirp and songbirds sing But you decide to stay at home So involved yet so alone How you wish to make yourself known. As an only child, I have gotten accustomed to being alone in a home full of complete silence, cut off from the rest of the world, sometimes for days at a time. I experience this every summer when I travel back to St. Louis to visit family in my childhood home. During those visits, I end up spending a lot of time by myself, sitting in front of the living room window. That view has become permanently engrained in my mind. The window overlooks a downward slope, with trees and houses cascading into the distance under the vast sky. (Unlike Illinois, Missouri actually has trees and meaningful changes in elevation.) On clear days, I can marvel at the vibrant colors of the sky and sunlit forest-scape. But despite being miles and miles away from my usual life, in those ...