Intersections
It’s not time sections of our lives
But the intersections
along the way
That are our true celebrations.
Anniversaries,
the counting of time,
Are but surrogates for
shaping experiences,
Encounters,
by chance as much as plan,
With people and places
and events.
At each crossing, we enter
as one person
And depart as another,
subtly changed.
I meet you and the meeting
changes us both
Just as other interactions
will change me
And change you
before we meet again.
We cling to sense of self,
as well we must.
It is our basis, our individuality.
But if I’m me and you are you,
So are we as much living atlases,
Adding new geography
to ourselves each day.
Some celebration of time
may soon again
Be ours to stage
or be thrust upon us,
And we will rise to the occasion.
We will look at each other and see
Not just our arrival,
but how we got there,
We, the many versions
of ourselves,
And the intersections
that have made us us.
Charles B. Neff
6/16/2010
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