I’m no longer afraid
Or angry oh yes
I retreated into myself
When like a turtle
I’d been touched too
Often by unfamiliar hands
But now time passed
And out I come
No longer wishing to
Impress but be impressed
Like a tarnished penny
Full of glee at
The sight of newly
Minted and shiny pennies
Oh aren’t they beautiful
I no longer wished
That life vying and
Betting on the unknown
What once had been
Sputtered and lurched like
A car out of
Petro in the desert
Now stranded does one
Return to what’s known
What never really was
Or move on into
The what might be
There’s no rhyme nor
Reason why two people
Friends lovers or otherwise
That are essentially different
Yet attract one another
Some may say that
They see what’s missing
In the other but
I think not I think
That what brings
Two different people together
Friends lovers or otherwise
Are their shared strengths
For strength can be
That shoulder upon which
To lean that hand
In which to hold
That smile that invites
And that wink which
Causes a shadowy blush
We all need someone
Not just anyone but
A really good someone
I know I do
And when I don’t
I feel listless lost
Like a shoe that’s
Lost its partner or
Like an envelope that
Lost its postage what’s
One to do when
One isn’t going to
Ever be as good
As two
I’m starting over again
It’s over again and
Over again and once
Again I’m starting over
Or maybe not maybe
I’ll be stay single
For once once again
HARLAN DIDRICKSON 