Despite the awkward technical difficulties
fifteen minutes in,I felt as if an
impossibly long cord
connected us.

There is a shorthand of
grief, loss, regret--
languages I wish I didn't speak
and wish you didn't, either.

I wish we were both so unfamiliar
with these that we had to speak slowly,
in elaborate explanations,
agonizing over nuances.

Instead, since we are
inexplicably bound,
I hope my gratitude
is crystal clear.


for a new/old friend