The Company of Trust

By: Nathan Fletcher

I’ve walked through rooms full of laughter

and felt more alone

than in silence.

I’ve been surrounded by faces

that smiled without meaning,

words without weight,

promises without spine.

So I’ve come to this quiet conclusion…which is

I’d rather walk a lonelier road,

shoulder to shoulder

with one or two souls

who mean what they say,

and say what they mean.

I’d rather eat in stillness

with the few I can trust,

than feast in chaos

where respect is a rumor.

Peace has become my measure.

Trust, my currency.

And solitude…which is

not a curse,

but the place I finally

met myself.