{"id":229,"date":"2010-08-23T15:54:47","date_gmt":"2010-08-23T19:54:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/?p=229"},"modified":"2010-11-11T16:48:36","modified_gmt":"2010-11-11T21:48:36","slug":"writers-carnival-lonely-wanderer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thefourpartland.com\/blog\/?p=229","title":{"rendered":"Writer’s Carnival: Lonely Wanderer"},"content":{"rendered":"

The second of my three entries into the Writer’s Carnival<\/a>. The third will appear tomorrow.<\/em><\/p>\n

\tI am the lonely wanderer, so distant and so strange. I am the lonely wanderer, but a passing phase. I live on the outskirts of society. I leave no memories, no sign to mark my passing. I live a life alone, a life apart. I chose it this way, once, and now that choice has become me, has enveloped me, has made me its own.<\/p>\n

\tI wear a mask, not upon my face, but upon my being. It is a shield, for you, for me. Emotions are a dangerous thing, and I long ago forsook them. I wish you the same goal in your life. It stings at first, but after a time, the mask is all there is, and the emotions go away. Without pain, without fear, life is a free thing, free to wander through mankind, observing all there is to see.<\/p>\n

\tBut what of human contact, what of humanity itself? A brief brush will suffice. A touch, a wink, a stolen kiss. That is enough, and then away once more, before emotion can build and crack the shield which holds it down, holds it back.<\/p>\n

\tI walk the paths between men, around men. I slip between lives, leaving dim marks, faint memories, the barest of remembrances. Life is glancing, indirect, the briefest of touches. Again, it is enough.<\/p>\n

\tI am protected from the pain of life, the hatred of life, the shame of life. No more can a man mock me, for he does not know me. No more can a woman twist my heart and cause it pain, for she cannot reach me. And for this I give up but a trifle.<\/p>\n

\tSome nights, that trifle comes in the dark, hidden inside the damnable phrase \u201cWhat If?\u201d. It passes, soon enough, and your soul is tempered in the heat of those moments. You and I, we become stronger, more resilient, and can resist the sadness that inhabits humanity. And with enough time, the trifles and the \u201cwhat ifs\u201d disappear, and we accept our situation.<\/p>\n

\tI am the lonely wanderer. It is my choice, but it should be yours.<\/p>\n

Guidelines<\/strong><\/p>\n