Close Friends, Distant Lives

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber

Some readers may recall this poem. I have been weeding the blog, deleting and sometimes revising some less popular poems. Rightly or wrongly, I feel this poem deserves a second time around; it first appeared in an anthology, A Testament to Life, Triumph House (Forward Press) 2000 and subsequently in my collection. 

One of the most wonderful aspects of a close relationships and friendships is that they can survive just about anything, even distance, especially in this technological age that makes it so much easier to keep in touch.

CLOSE FRIENDS, DISTANT LIVES

I see the moon,
you see the sun; another time,
another place;
on the ground, perceive a snail
trying to keep pace
with it all

Our faces lit, now dark;
laughing, weeping, waking, sleeping;
world turning on a snail

I see the sun,
you see the moon; same day,
same night; in our hearts,
a secret place where old friends
meet to laugh, talk
and play

Ah, but our time is up
(even snails sleep). I close my eyes
and see you, feel your heart
beating under my shirt, your breath
painting sweet dreams
on my face

As good a time as any
to embrace our history, against which
all else pales

Such is the significance of snails

[From: Love and Human Remains by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2000]