17 responses to “Recipe for solitude”

1. Most excellent poem! I really enjoyed the part of the recipe for solitude in the first verse…solitude is wind…nowadays with my mother with us, I often crave solitude.

2. The trick is to be alone without being lonely; not hard for poets, artists & photographers. Great imagery & sweet word smithing with this one.

3. You beat me to it, Björn, and with a fine poem! The repetition of ‘solitude’ is effective, like an echo throughout the poem, and your wordplay shines through, particularly:’flowerbudded restlessness’; ‘pebb/led to a fireplace’ / where embers nest’; and ‘a toe of mine /
   independent hammocked / freed from shoes’.

4. I love this. Especially:
   “it’s sunshine soil
   birdsong sprung from spring
   a flower budded restlessness”

   This makes me crave a long, long walk. Alone.

   And oh, those “hammocked” toes. 🙂

   • Now I see “ham-hocked” inside “hammocked.” 🙂

5. This line really made me smile: ” it’s sunshine soil.” Also, I love the phrase “needle smooth.” What you did with “forest” was very cool too, drawing out the fo(u)r feet and turning yourself into an animal. I like the idea of swallowing rest, as well as the way you broke “pebbled” to perhaps draw out other words, like “pub led,” for example. The word “toe” was unexpected, so I consider that a poetic success. Another favorite phrase for me is “independent hammocked.” Oh, and definitely “the pampered love-child.” Too, I like how your indented lines create a sort of mini-embedded poem — at the end of which I see, “of a dream loneliness,” which is a really interesting concept, that one might be lonely in dreams but not in waking existence.

6. Wonderful images in this. It takes me, a lot of solitude for images to cascade in a profusion close to this. Even then, they are often so elusive.

7. A beautiful cadence that lulled me into a peaceful place. Love all the images of solitude, especially this one…”solitude is the pampered love-child of a dream”. So unique.

8. I love the same line as Mish. This feels peaceful, not at all lonely.

9. The only time I felt any loneliness in your solitude was in your last two lines, Bjorn. I love your second verse with the needle smooth and when you hyphenated bare-feet, for/rest swallowed…excellent and so enjoyable to read.

10. It felt more like solitude and less like loneliness. I always think that solitude is a chosen accepted kind of alone whereas loneliness is less chosen. Mind you when I really think about it, there can be times where we begin with solitude and then realise we are alone and then that becomes loneliness. I liked the toe bit too, it was like that stolen pleasure, when you have taken time for yourself..or when you accidentally get time that you hadn’t anticipated…like snow days…when school gets closed and you get an unexpected holiday.

11. Aaah, that last stanza is a real treat to behold. Lovely.

12. I like the idea of the individually hammocked toes. I like a time of solitude, but not too much. Lonlinessis the extreme

13. Oh this is beautiful! I especially love
    “solitude is anticipation
    of a footpath
    warm and needle smooth
    to be bare-
    feet for/rest swallowed”

    And then I come to your solitary toe 🙂 and then the shift from the contented, which I feel as I read this poem, to the more unsettled ending…it can be loneliness.
    Well done!

14. So many truths in this. I hate the thought of solitude as loneliness for so many, though I crave it. Especially in nature or in the little sacred space I have created for myself at home.

15. This is great! Love the descriptions of peace and contentment. Never loneliness for me.

16. wonderfully penned poem that has layers of meaning, twists and turns and a thread of singularity, of solitude.

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