what a horrible thing it is,
to feel like you don’t belong.
no matter what you do or where you go,
it all feels so wrong.
no point in trying to fit in,
you will always be the odd one out.
what’s the reason to try and make friends?
they always go a different route.
what a horrible feeling,
to feel like nobody wants you around.
sitting right next to several people,
yet you don’t make a sound.
people always ignoring you,
talking over you or leaving you behind.
acting like you’re not there,
it’s like you don’t even cross their mind.
i just want to feel included for once,
to feel like i finally belong somewhere.
or maybe to just feel like someone wants me around,
instead, i just sit alone in a chair.
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139,521 Literary Works • 672,595 Reviews
While reading this, I imagined being/feeling invisible in a crowded room. The way it's written is very straightforward, which actually makes the whole thing feel way more genuine and personal. I really relate to the part where frustrating it is to try and connect with people but still feel completely out of place. This poem really gives the “always the odd one out” vibes.
OHEMGEE I LOVE THIS SM!! I mean I cant rlly get this on a personal level like the other comments seem to, soooo but still the way you write is amazing!! Like I can picture someone 4realz monologuing it OHHHH like I could totess see this being a kinda movie opening(˶ > ₃ < ˶) anyway I rlly only see ppl talk bout being lonely in the sense that theyre literally isolated, or temporarily seperated from some1, so it's also nice 2 see a piece leaning more toward the alienation side of things! Humans r such social yet self conscious creatures, and I think people can kinda forget that once you deprive someone of socialization for so long it rlly does become a seemingly impossible feat to reverse the damage done
Thank you! I%u2019m glad you enjoyed it.
Okay for all the other review I wrote about me being able to relate to the poem. The one I can't lie I made a poem so similar. I introverted and I try and have friend but as you said they go their own route. It hurts a lot. I gave up on making friends in real life not going to lie it's easier here. People can relate. Even if I am writing it in a quiet state. OOOO rhyme. *cough* sorry. Anyway, here is a little story. I used to have a friend she was so kind *well that's what I thought* but when I traveled she told my sister she was happy I was gone and that I was just a burden and embarrassed her. I am happy she is out my life is what I told my sister but honestly, I thought she was my friend. Here is my point ever since then I have been so lonely, and things just got worse after my parents' divorce. I literally call myself Lonely Laylay.
Hai :3
This is such a painfully honest poem!! It captures loneliness in such a direct, aching way, and I really admire how unguarded it feels. There’s no attempt to dress the feeling up too much, which honestly works for the subject matter because exclusion is already such a raw, humiliating, quiet kind of hurt. The poem feels like someone sitting in the middle of a crowded room and slowly realizing that being near people is not the same thing as being with them. That’s devastating!!
Oof.
This opening is so simple, but it immediately gives the poem its emotional thesis. I love how plainspoken it is!! It feels almost like a confession, or the first sentence someone says after holding something in for a really long time. “Horrible thing” is broad, but in a way that makes sense here because the feeling itself is so big and hard to reduce. Belonging is such a basic human need, so framing its absence as “horrible” feels very real.
I really like the repetition of totality here: “no matter,” “what you do,” “where you go,” “all.” It creates this trapped feeling, like the speaker has tested every possible door and none of them open. That’s so sad!! It gives the poem this emotional circularity, where the speaker is moving through places but never arriving anywhere that feels safe.
This is one of the strongest emotional moments to me because it shifts from sadness into resignation. The “always” hurts. It makes the exclusion feel permanent, like the speaker has internalized other people’s rejection and started treating it as fact ~~ That is such a human thing to do, especially after being ignored over and over. I think this stanza is where the poem starts to feel less like a passing bad day and more like a wound that has been reopened many times.
^^^ I do wonder if you could make “odd one out” feel a little more specific to the speaker’s experience. The phrase absolutely communicates the idea, but it’s also familiar, so maybe there’s room to give us an image only this poem could have. What does being the odd one out look like here? Is it an empty desk? A group chat you weren’t added to? Walking behind everyone else on the sidewalk? Food for thought!!
!!! I love the callback to the opening!!
Repeating “what a horrible…” makes the poem feel like it’s spiraling deeper into the same hurt. The first time, it’s about not belonging; here, it becomes even more personal: not being wanted. That distinction is really effective. Not belonging can feel abstract, but not being wanted around feels direct and sharp. It shows the little social violences that add up until someone feels invisible. That’s such a good instinct!!
Ugh, what an ending!! The chair image is so plain, but that plainness makes it hurt. It isn’t dramatic; it’s rather ordinary, which makes it worse. A chair is such a simple object, but here it becomes this symbol of isolation. The speaker isn’t far away on purpose because they’re right there, waiting to be noticed, waiting to be invited in.
^^^ I think the ending could become even stronger if you let the chair carry more emotional significance throughout the poem. Since the final image is “alone in a chair,” maybe you could plant that earlier: sitting beside people, the chair slightly outside the circle, the chair scraping back while everyone else leaves, etc. That way, the ending would feel less like a final statement and more like the last image in a pattern that has been building the whole time.
Overall, this is such a tender and painfully relatable poem!! The strength here is definitely the emotional clarity. You know exactly what feeling you want to communicate, and you let it stay honest instead of hiding it behind overly complicated language. Amazing work!! ^_^
- Payton
Thank you so much! I%u2019m glad you enjoyed reading it.
you can really feel the emotion in this one. you mention a lot of things like sitting next to people and still feeling lonely that feel very nuanced. when you say 'lonely' most people might think of someone being alone, but it comes in so many different forms. i think the worst part about loneliness is that it never really leaves you, wether you're around people or not, and i think you captured that feeling really well.
i also like the rhyme pattern, it think it does a great favor to the tone of this poem. also i'm sorry you got shamed for using a support thread, even if 'just' lightly. reaching out to people when you're struggling can be one of the most difficult things you'll ever do, and no one deserves to get chastised for that.
hope you're doing well and that experience didn't discourage you from seeking help if you need it. we can all need someone to just air all our troubles to, big or small. anyway i really liked this poem and i'm glad i got to read it!
Glad you enjoyed the read! Loneliness definitely is one of those things that comes in so many different forms and I%u2019m glad that this portrayed that well. The rhyme pattern is one I haven%u2019t done yet before but I quite liked reading it.
The experience that this was inspired by has definitely made me wary about reaching out for things, especially since I already struggled with that in the first place and doubly so because my husband and I helped this group a lot over the past year and now they%u2019ve done a whole bunch of nonsense to us and others, but I digress lol.
Thank you again for your review, and I%u2019m glad you liked the poem!