My Constant Companion

Wanblee, South Dakota
Pine Ridge Indian Reservation
Volume 3, Issue 19
August 4, 2008



-My Constant Companion-
…attached to my core…

Inside me deep
I feel a pain.
It twinges every now and then.
I try to ignore it.
I tell it to go away,
to leave me alone.
I keep myself busy,
so maybe I won’t notice it there.
I rush from place to place,
trying to hide from its stare.
A constant companion I wish I could lose.
An unshakable enemy,
attached to my core.
There are moments when I think
it has finally gone away,
but then it reminds me it is still here.
There are times so great,
when I just don’t care
that it lives inside me so.
Some days I can think of nothing else.
I sit and stare, wondering how,
wondering why.
Why must I bare a burden so great?
When can I flee from this hindrance
so strong?
I long to be free from its tightening grasp.
But for now we journey together,
Through the ups and the downs.
Through adventures and sights.
Yes, together I travel with
Loneliness.

Writer’s note: what prompted this prose was me sitting on the couch watching TV one night. I usually do not own a TV, but where I am living right now a TV is provided. I way too often find myself watching it at night, flipping through the channels to “pass the time.” Today I actually watched part of Daddy Daycare – how embarrassing - hence the statements above!