Alone or together

Seeing this, 

This isolated home, 

Separated from community 

By the lake at its front 

And the mountains at its back,

 I think of CS Lewis and The Great Divorce, 

Where he arrives in Hell only to find 

Folks continuing to move farther and farther away 

 From each other.

 I know that tendency in myself— 

The longing for solitude — 

But at the same time I’m aware 

Of the great joy I find in human interactions.

 It’s one of our great challenges, isn’t it, 

To find a satisfactory balance 

Between the need to be alone 

And the joy of loving and being loved…