Breaking Away

Words are all we've had.
Distance never intended,
Intermittent lines,
Briefly spoken connections,
Blinking moments of recognition.

Words are all we've had.
Hands grasped firmly
In hesitation and wonder -
What would we miss
Leaving a steepled cover?

Once in despair an
Urgency to leave was confided.
Quickly, a response:
I need to know you live.
I would miss you.

Now words tumble rapidly
Onto pages, into the air
Filled with a need to hear,
You're still there.
I'm still here.

Words.  Exchanges.
Never answers.
Moments slipping
Far too quickly.

Neither uttered nor written,
Silence conveys the
Recognition of harbingers
And rescinds the unspoken.

Sparse words arrive handwritten,
"My building.  I'm happy."
The building's too tall,
He, too small.

Words are all we've had,
Often whispering the uncertain,
Following the paths of journeys
Too divided to acknowledge.

Awareness -
It spins silently.
Words binding the
Distance and time.

Years ago they stood,
Acknowledging across a room
A signaled ending,
"Don't forget me."
"I won't."

Five words - An infinite connection

Belva Barnhardt
January 1, 2002