On Being Alone

What does it mean to be here alone?
I see and hear the hubbub, the smiles 
And laughter of people less lonely
Than I am. I marvel at their ease. 
That calm sense of knowing that they are
Exactly where they need to be, with
The people they ought to and want to 
Be with. I imagine what it must
Feel like, to be like them, to be them. 
My envy eats me like a cancer.