Isn’t it strange
how in this brief exchange
of the creative impulse
we gain
a certain kind of intimacy
with each other
yet we never
smell each other
shake hands
breathe the same air
put up with personal idiosyncrasies
and off-putting voice inflections –
all the things our friends and loved ones have to.
Yet here we occupy hearts and minds
many of our friends and loves do not know
with such closeness, interiority, and connectedness.
What a strange and magnificent gift!
I wrote this after reading several poems of my friends here on this wonderful website. I got to thinking about how I address many of you as "my friend," and I really feel a friendship with you, yet we have never met face-to-face in the flesh. How sweet it is!
