I Miss You

There are dozens of words that describe separation:
division, detachment, divorce, deprivation,
displacement, duality, distance ... all these
have a different meaning - and that's just the D's!
But the feelings they bring get just one simple phrase,
so "I miss you" is all that most anyone says.

Is all parting the same then, and does it not matter
if we spoke love or hate or just meaningless chatter?
As long as a moment of happiness glowed,
then that light's in our heart when we take to the road,
and when solitude seems like it's too much to handle
we're drawn to that flame like a moth to a candle.

So, what is this glimmer of love that's gone by?
A gleam from the past still attracts us. But why?
What point could there be in this sad meditation
without any hope of amelioration?
Perhaps we, by focussing on the times when
we had bliss, can more easily find it again.

I'm sure someone could wrestle this question forever,
but I'm not so strong or tenacious or clever
to keep it creative. I fall back on habits.
I'm not a magician: there are no more rabbits
to pull from this language's dusty old hat -
so I'll just say "I miss you", and leave it at that.

San Jose
October 2, 1998