Solitude’s Demands
Those who would stretch their minds with weighty thought
Seek solitude, that they may concentrate
Upon the subjects of their choice, without
Distraction. Interruptions militate
Against coherence and often frustrate
Successful culmination of intense
Research and contemplation, (so they rate),
Distressing those whose over-riding sense
Is to enquire into life’s elements
To find its purpose or extrapolate
Creative theses whose constituents
Might bring improvements for our human fate.
Their solitude holds out to them some scope
To comprehend more fully what, todate,
Has brought confusion, self-doubt, loss of hope
And fears which leave them feeling desolate:
Only in solitary thought can there
Be found solutions which may re-create
That life of peaceful happiness, where care
Is compensated by contentment’s state.
It is not possible for each who would
Investigate life’s secrets, so to do.
For some must build, and some must farm for food,
And some must manufacture; others, too,
Must be employed to serve the common good
In politics, or trade, or other chores
Like mining, engineering, nursing, laws,
Defence and education. If these should
Falter, our civilising aptitude
Towards progressive excellence would fall
Into the chaos of ineptitude.
Yet, vital though such matters are, (with all
Those others unremarked above, endued
With high importance for material
And social welfare), be it understood
That there is more to life than physical
Sufficiency. Luxuries quickly pall
On pampered minds; for we are each imbued
With intellect, which need artistical
Pleasure and spiritual certitude.
We should allow to those, whose interest
Tends to abstractions, such time as they need
To tease from life its secrets; for at best
They make a magic which transmutes our greed
For hedonistic pleasures of the flesh
Into appreciation for the fresh
Concerns of beauty wherein lie the seeds
Of art, of science and faith’s comforting.
But if their lonely labours do not bring
Such benefits, at least they do not breed
Indifference: for, those who are obsessed
With images culled from the past, or blessed
With visions of the future, (or, indeed,
Create their own future-historicals
From secret mental alchemy), will feed
The furnace of controversy which calls
Attention to dichotomies, compel
Responses others would avoid, and test
Our minds, through ceaseless arguments, until
Our ignorance is shamed to interest.
Not all who wish for solitude, or seek
Imagined comfort in untrammelled peace,
Are fitted for its rigours. Not those weak
In self-assurance; nor who fear to face
Uncomfortable thoughts which can be hid
In company’s diversions: there’s no place
For them in solitude’s recess. To rid
One’s mind of all distractions for a space
Demands such discipline and courage as
Is found in hearts strong in resilience.
To know one’s limits; to be blessed with grace
To wrestle with depression’s vehemence,
(Which can unhinge the mind from reason’s base
With its insidious attacks), to be
Self-motivated, yet prepared to see
Each aspect of one’s nature without trace
Of self-delusion: these are vital traits
Without which one cannot, for long, outface
Stern solitude, and thereby make essays
At thoughts which loom beyond the commonplace.
