Have ever you felt like quitting, because life is so hard
Just wanted to curl up and lay down where you are
Have you wanted to give up and not try anymore
You’d rather be a lump, or a grump or a bore
All alone
This was the case with Mary McKay
She was definitely having one of those days
She stood it as long as she possibly could
Then went home, closed the door and simply stood
All alone
At first she felt like she wanted to cry
Then she thought about going to find something to buy
She wandered to the kitchen, she didn’t know what to do
She thought about ice cream or a cold Mountain Dew
All alone
She closed the curtains and sat on the couch
Left her shoes on the table and felt like a slouch
She felt the whole world was a shit shade of brown
Her first sob broke the silence and she really felt down
All alone
She thought,
I’ll tell my friends, “Everyone go away.”
She felt she would just be getting in their way
She brewed up a cup of hot camomile tea
And went to her room, she just wanted to be
All alone
Before she knew it, she had fallen asleep
A sleep that was sudden and dreamless and deep
She was lying there still, stretched out on her bed
Not even a pillow under her head
All alone
She had lain there for hours not moving a stitch
She wouldn’t even have moved if she had an itch
That she needed to scratch right below her left ear
For all Mary knew, she had just disappeared
All alone
The shadows were longer and daylight was fading
When she groggily responded to her bladder’s persuading
It was telling her it had become pressurized
And felt several times larger than its normal size
All alone
So she got up and walked toward the darkened bathroom
She followed the familiar path through the gloom
The relief felt so good, her left ear got a rub
And suddenly Mary was aware of the tub
All alone
A bath would certainly feel perfect right now
Then after that maybe she would scare up some chow
So she started the water and brought in her book
Because she wanted to know if the cops caught the crook
All alone
She accepted that she might feel down for awhile
For a few days she would feel like a lonely exile
But things happen for a reason, and it might be a chore
But that was really okay, she had been here before
All alone
She felt so alone, but it wasn’t that bad
In fact she admitted, she was actually glad
She’d have time to herself with no one around
Because sometimes that’s better when you’re feeling down
All alone
The camomile tea was no longer hot
But a glass of merlot should hit the right spot
So she laid back and found the last page she had read
And the wine she was sipping went right to her head
All alone
Drying off she admitted she felt pretty good now
She might even be totally tuned in to the Tao
She put on her robe and it felt pretty darn good
Why not burn the last of last winter’s fire wood
All alone
So a fire in the fireplace was what she did next
So she sat down beside it and was rubbing her neck
It was warm and cheerful, she could stay there all night
But eventually it died with a dwindling light
All alone
Later that night as she drifted off to sleep
Just when Mary would normally be tempted to weep
Into her pillow again feeling sorry
She noticed the night sky and damn it was starry
All alone
Not only was it starry but it was immense
It was vast and so bright she regretted the pretense
That her worries might somehow be worthy of note
When somewhere it’s cold and some folks have no coat
All alone
And suddenly it was clear, she knew what to do
It didn’t take more than a moment or two
To peer around the edges of that massive blind spot
That gets in the way of realizing she’s not
All alone
And she drifted off to sleep wondering how many times
She might have to suffer through this paradigm
How often this lesson might have to be taught
Until she no longer freaked out at the thought
All alone
