I don't know when it exactly started, some time within the last couple months, but coming across the word alone or lonely or loneliness hits me in the gut. The previous word that used to give me pause, albeit in a totally different manner, was inchoate, and that was more just awe at that writer's knowledge of the word and their usage of it. This, from an ariticle about the effects of the transit strike, a quote from a homebound woman reliant on a visiting nurse. The word alone when spoken makes this daily world of images and how are you doing, doing good comments fall away. The curtain is withdrawn with this magic word, this abracadabra conjures all that fear of death and vulnerability that I am able to normally put out of mind, the word gives me shivers.
*********************************
Gloria Ramos, 74, who lives on the Lower East Side and takes 17 medications daily, was seen yesterday by both a visiting nurse and a home attendant, but she feared what would happen in a prolonged strike. "More than anything else, I do not want to be alone," she said.
-Tolls Start to Mount
No comments:
Post a Comment