Single Little Me

My dad would often say

Sit back and enjoy the ride

I hated that answer

But attempted to learn

Oversized billboards beckon

As I cruise down the road

Weekends gallivanting alone

Singing shamelessly off key.

My mom prays I meet someone

Friends ask if I’m seeing anyone

The man I loved teases for stories

But I’m content with single.

Being on my own tastes like

Sweet espresso on a Sunday morning

Basking under the sun on grass

Looks like a night out at the movies

My pickiness frustrates me

Evenings with respectable men

Followed up with polite declines

I know what I don’t want


Maybe I can go on without a partner

Sure I love writing about love

But to live with one

Surely not a necessary path to cross?

I don’t know what I’m missing

But days off open to my own devices

Meals shared with books

Days loving friends and my cat—

I’m here to debate loneliness

Decades of hating the person in the mirror

Finally I appreciate her company

Let’s chase grandiose dreams.

Madeleine Perez