For Miz Quickly’s poetry prompt Day 10: Alone or At A Party
http://imprompt.wordpress.com/
Party of One
That phrase has always struck
me as somewhat strange,
needing rearrangement.
Like the woman at a party
spending her time moving
placemats and plates.
Adjusting silverware
to some precise measure
inside her head and edge
of table. Unable to pull
herself away from self-
appointed task, wearing
a mask of busyness to still
dizzy feeling that she’ll
never fit in, never belong,
be part of a throng sharing
drinks and laughter. And
afterward, she’ll go home
alone, slowly get ready for bed,
where she’ll drift off in familiar dreams
of a day when she will no longer be
a party of one.
Elizabeth Crawford 4/10/13
Notes: Not quite to prompt. Sort of got lost in the first words of the prompt, which led me to this phrase and then to a scene from a favorite movie (The Fisher King, starring Robin Williams and Jeff Bridges).
Soul's Music 
Hey! That’s me. Except, I got to go home with Skip. When we went to school parties, children were usually part of the equation [not ours who were long gone]. I would find wherever they were, under the guise of being helpful, and stay unless someone came and winkled me out. The children never expected conversation from me. Skip eventually took pity and went to parties alone.
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Great poem, and I so agree that Party of One is an awful phrase. Great poem though! 🙂
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Elizabeth, there is sorrow in this, but it is beautifully said. I don’t know, while I enjoy some people’s company, being a party of one suits me most of the time. More as I get older, I think it has something to do with teaching and always being on stage. Good grief, I am rambling, sorry.
Pamela
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Hey, what works–works.
You’ve sketched her very well, too
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I’ve done that too. You just go with a piece of a prompt one word, the arrow released find the target of your heart. Well done.
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I agree with Quickly…you’ve done quite well to bring this imagined character to life…very believable the busyness to fight against this anxiety of not fitting in…eerily familiar.
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Often a party of one, I related to this piece. Beautiful and soul felt.
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Elizabeth, I can completely identify. This was me in my twenties. I like what you did with alone and at a party.
Richard
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Alone in a crowd… time spent away from home can do that…
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