I keep to myself
No bother to any
Offering what I can
Lending an ear
I give
And I gave
Far too much of myself
Lifted those
Who oppressed me
Loved those
Who hated me
Prayed for those
Who betrayed me
I keep to myself
Bite my tongue to the masses
And confess my feelings to God
I raise my son
Not my voice
I raise myself
And use my voice
Profess my truth
I’m no better
Nor worse
Than my peers
I work on myself
Changed my ways
Healed my toxic traits
And aim toward goals
I study
I educate
I meditate
Purge what no longer serves
I sing loudly
Nevermind my volume
I suffer in silence
From chronic pain
Not so much emotional anguish
Detached from toxicity
Removed myself
From abusive narcissists
I keep to myself
Isolated in solitude
By my own choice
And by God’s decree
I keep to myself
In Hermit mode
To gain truth and clarity
For my growth.
I can identify with the fluctuations I sense in this voice, going from a kind of self-selected isolation for comfort, to it being forced, to it being out of necessity for boundary setting and healing. There are indeed many facets to isolation, some good, some (supposedly) bad. Embrace the self-selected introversion, I say! This was my favorite part for its positivity and kind of joyful reckless abandon of social norms:
I study
I educate
I meditate
Purge what no longer serves
I sing loudly
Nevermind my volume