Drifting
Sparrows hide in sagebrush shade,
Only one emerges
Later, when
I slow my steps. Some swamp
Verbena endures the season,
Arid under scalding skies. I
Go south
Along the riverbank
Nothing tells me to hurry
Today.
Solivagant
solivagant (adjective; sometimes noun)
Pronunciation: suh-LIV-uh-guhnt
Definition: Wandering or traveling alone; roaming without companions, often by choice.
“The trail welcomed the solivagant as readily as it welcomed the flock.”
Etymology:
Solivagant combines the Latin solus (“alone”) with vagari (“to wander”), the same root that gives English vagrant, vagabond, and extravagant. At its heart, solivagant is simply one who wanders alone.
Related Words:
- vagrant – one who wanders without a permanent home.
- vagabond – a wanderer or traveler.
- extravagant – originally meant “wandering beyond proper limits” (extra + vagari), later evolving into the modern sense of excessive or lavish.
- vague – from the same Latin root vagari, originally suggesting something that “wanders” or is not fixed or definite.
