You have the handshakes,
I'll take the slaps on the back.
There's no estate, no kids.

You have the helloes,
I, the good-byes.

No mediator is necessary,
I've medidated on this
And concluded,
Bro,
This friendship.

If you asked me to describe how I know God answers prayers
I would point you in the direction of honeybees

Because nobody so unassuming, with so monumental an impact, can come from any source other than divine

For is it not the place of the bee to buzz by plants and people, taking pieces of each to the next?

I see the still pollinated goodbyes of every former flower in your honeybee helloes

And honey, if your hello is an answered prayer, consider me cross contaminated

It is not until your petals have gone without pollen that you appreciate the sweet nectar of their presence

Hello honeybee

Stay as long as you need, then perhaps a little longer

You're up in your head
Thinking about him thinking about you thinking about all the things you could have said
Second guessing
Over and over
All the decisions you made
Questioning if this is all worth the struggle
Maybe you should just give in and call him over

But he ain’t thinking about you like that
He’s driving to work, calling his friends, and making sure he’s got the best **** football stats
You’re twirling inside your own head
Reminiscing all of those memories
So hard to forget all those long long nights
But at the end of the day just remember
Losing time over him is just another mistake

Up till 11 PM tossing and turning
Wondering what he’s doing now
Getting mad at your self
It’s been so long why does he keep creeping back in
When the loneliness keeps you up like that
And all you want to do is curl on up
Tell yourself

He ain’t think about you like that
He’s talking to his mama, shooting hoops, and wondering if his lunch break is coming round soon
You’re twirling inside your own head
Reminiscing all of those memories
So hard to forget all those long long nights
But at the end of the day just remember
Losing time over him is just another mistake

But what’s worse
Whatcha can’t get out of your head
What if all those memories that you can’t undo that just creep on up in the middle of the afternoon
What if the kisses, the smiles, the tears, and the sweet helloes are all gone to waste
What keeps me up and up and up
What if he’s thinking about someone else

Cause he ain’t think about me like that
He’s ain’t talking to me about his mama, his friends, or his long *** day
He's twirling inside my head
Reminiscing all of those memories
So hard to forget all those long long nights
But at the end of the day just remember
Losing time over him is just another mistake

The traveler is home.
Season’s end finds him
safely sequestered in
friendly and familial arms.
The distances now bridged
allow him to give
that which he sought
and achieved at great cost.

The traveler is home,
unpacking his treasures,
unloading his wisdom,
given in writing
and spoken in person,
silver proses
not wrapped in bows,
but human woes,
truths in experiences
parlayed part of the way
and interlaced
with the fictions he traced
to spruce the narratives up.
In return he receives
handshakes, helloes
how are you doing,
and where have you been.

The traveler is home
but that is not enough.
Love cannot tether him here
and even in polite conversation
when he is facing
those he loves
his eyes search the distance
planning the perfect parting moment
while longing for adventures
and new stories untold.

Even when the traveler is home
his mind is already back on the road.
Before he washes his cloths
he is already ready to go,
so every single hello
is just an unfinished goodbye.

The traveler is only home on the road.

In this life
You will wear
A million faces

A tearful twist
Of long farewells
And happy helloes,

Angry snarly
Brows furrowing
Deep and curling
Like a monster

A wrinkled mess
Of old man flesh
Crow’s skin tanning
Underneath the eyes
And high above
a prominent chin in
Scowly orbs of judgment

A softer inquisitive one
With confused movements

A face for love and joy

A face for love and lost

And every tiny transitional face
That forms in
Every single emotional
and temporal phase.

Don't close the gates of your heart,
Welcome new Helloes
They are meant to bring Spring into your life.
11/5/2022