ribbon

   
i tell you one night
that we are rocks in a stream
pushed up against each other
and each and every single one
of these great unfairnesses
that enters and exits our lives
the people dying too soon
being sick too often
being unavailable
being sad 
being broken
these things are random currents and eddies
jostling us around as they pass
moving us upon each other
grinding us together
wearing us down just a little bit more 
but making us fit 
even more perfectly together

and i think i have come up with something
so poetic and profound
this way of framing 
this particular thing
that is so meaningful 
that it gives both of us
some new insight into who we are
and what we mean to each other
and how it all works together

and then 
you

in one moment
you digest what i have said
and you look straight into my eyes
and you do 
what it is 
you have done for me every day
and every moment of my life

you take 
what i think
is a completed thought
and you add yourself into it

and you are there 
standing next to me
looking at the same two rocks 
in that same stream
that i am imagining are us
and you say these words

these words
that are once again
evidence of your superpower
these words that are a shimmering silky ribbon
on the package that was simply an image
and now is a gift 
we are giving to each other

you say
"and the water makes us shiny, too!"