Independent Woman

Living here without you
an independent woman
on her own

Smiling at neighbors
as they walk by
hand in hand

Baking cupcakes
for the children
other people’s grands

Tending to flowers
planted as seeds
long ago

Watching the days
slip away into nights
always alone

Loneliness comes
like the waves
of the tide

Ebbing and flowing
a current of emotion
sometimes high often low

An independent woman
independently sleeps each night
independently wakes each and
every morn