My Species, Unaccompanied

This hermit
myself
a crab of a different type
is retreating farther and farther
into a shell
that is visible to all
but me
while my invertebraic softer stuff
is visible to me
only me
Not much will stop
this self-induced isolation
amid populated islands
In fact
I don't know if anything
or anyone
can
This reef
in me
soon will die
when touched by
alien hands
A hermit coral islandic crab
am I
am I alone
in this classification?
Maybe if I meet up with
another such
red recluse
I will be able
to poke some
slimy sluggish worm
of me
outside of that
self-inflicted shell
and we can need
each other
as much
as I need
to be needed
then if that similar
crustacean touches me
I won't shrivel
up, dead.
For now
I've only met
some crabs
from the same family
or maybe
even genus
but
not species.
I am a species unto myself
and wish it were not so
well, at least
wish it were
not so lonely so
or so hard so.
But maybe that's what
individuality does to
a person
or a crab for that matter
specialness is
not so special
sometimes.