we greet each other more now,
i find.
we more readily acknowledge
sidelong glances in crowded corridors,
with a smile.
shared spaces are precious.
we know this because we have known their absence
and some absences are permanent,
in this life…
but they are permeable too.
memory is the bridge that connects what is with what was.
memory is the bridge that connects us.
it fills in the hollows, inside hearts and under eyes,
the nerve endings cauterized by loneliness.
because aloneness is different,
no matter what they say.
aloneness is different.
shared spaces are sacred.
we know this because we have known their absence
and we cherish the expressions that were once shrouded,
the wrinkles and chuckles and indentations.
i passed two figures today across an expanse of green,
one human and one statuary and at first I could not discern the difference.
at first…
