is easy, no one
telling you what to do
or when to do it

no one questioning why
you’re eating M&Ms
so early in the morning

or peeling a potato
with your fingernails
instead of a knife

no one watching you forget
to screw the top back
on the coffee maker

or put the glass pot under
the spout, spraying coffee
all over the kitchen

no one asking what’s for dinner
as you walk through the door
no one there

to see that living alone
is as easy
as landing on the moon

every night, looking
to claim your place
on an empty planet

with every tentative
weightless
step you take.

“Living Alone” by Elizabeth Burk, from Rattle #34, Winter 2010,
Tribute to Mental Health Workers.