The Competition

It wasn't obvious immediately
never a deliberate choice
but from childhood she knew
she was different
Exactly when she entered the competition
wasn't clear either
but as the fates gradually conspired
to unburden her of family and friends
and with human contact in an increasingly
automated world dwindling to virtual zero
she realised she was a front runner
Age made it easier to hone her solitary skills
diversionary activity became a tour-de-force
and contact avoidance a new science
until reclusive behavior fashioned
a comfortable second skin
As an antidote to loneliness I suppose
she would joke about the self imposed isolation
with punchlines inevitably delivered
to an audience of one --herself
As sure as death
and in keeping with competition rules
her funeral would be attended by no-one
She had long held the conviction
she was a taker not a giver
no wonder all her relationships
had been steeped in failure
evidently she was a natural at that too
But not this time
for as life's finishing line beckoned
she could sense victory lay within her grasp
this time she would triumph
and she would be crowned
the undisputed
the one and only
loneliest girl
on Earth