Alone doesn't mean lonely

As a kid we hate
Doing anything alone.
Being female means
You get eyed suspiciously
If you do things alone
At any age I find!
Eating a baked potato
On the bench
Beside the church
On the high street,
A kid from my sports
Club passed with
Their friends and
Asks: Are you not
With anyone, you
Are eating lunch on
Your own? Yeah my
Friends are doing
A different course at college
And I'm eating before
I do some shopping.
On your own ?
Yes I am 18. My Friend
Have different days
On their timetable.
And this is my
Day off of college and
I'm not working today.
I could have lied.
Could have said
I was waiting on someone.
But to hell with it.
But it stayed lodged
With me long after.
So the only place
I would eat alone
From then on
Would be home
Unless I really had to.
I Was just an assistant
At the club.
If chief had spotted
Me and I had
Said the same
They would make me
Feel guilty for having a
Day off and taking
Ten minutes to myself
To Eat! I had to
Get shopping and
I stopped for food.
Not working today?
Your friends are?
Lazy part timer.
My pals have different days off
They DO have days off.
Everyone needs days off!
The youth was
Just being inquisitive
Like school kids are.

And before I dropped
Out of college
This girl said
They were going
On the train to
The nearest city
To go shopping
On her own since
She had days off.
I initially thought
That was odd
For a girl
To Go shopping alone.
Then I thought,
There's nothing wrong
With that and
I need to face
Some fears I had.
Or this was part
Of growing up.
Some things in
Life have to be
Done alone. We
Go into a job
Interview alone. Our
Job title my be
The only one in a
Company. There's a time
That you might
Be the only single
Person in your friends.
Most people drive
To Work alone.
Compared to school
Work can feel alone
For many of us.