Poem

     I knew,
Not because I thought I saw you at the other end of the room
every time I glanced up,
Not because I thought I heard your voice coming from a distance
when I wasn’t quite listening,
But because I never did.
I knew you too well for that.
In these few months, I have memorized you.
     I know
every curl of your hair, and its exact color (in every light)
the tilt of your chin,
the line from your forehead to the end of your nose,
the angle of your arms whether you sit or stand
– and the bend of your back.
     I can recognize
the easy rhythm of your speech,
the way that words roll off your lips
your bored rejoinders, ardent dissertations, sleepy silences
– their tones ring in my head.
     and I can hum
the melody of your laugh,
the cadence of you breath.
     You were my soul mate,
     I knew this because
I never had to look for you, listen for you in a crowded room;
You came to me, unhesitatingly, wrapping warm arms around me,
Knowing me as I know you.