A single letter is all that can separate
everything we do into right and wrong
and that letter is I

Just one loving grace
denied in the intolerance
of our selfishness,
or afforded in the sincerity
of our smiles,
is all that decides
how painful or beautiful
we can sing our song,
if we will live in peace or madness
or become the victims of our own fear.
Just one lonely space
hidden in our longing,
where we cry within our loss,
is all that divides
our hearts from where they are
in sadness
and where they belong in joy.
That empty place
however hard sought
by each other's hope,
is still harbored
along the shores of our indifference
and lost upon the sea of our tears.

Copyright 2005 Pierre Ortega