I had never considered it that way --
the simple state of being in a particular time
and place -- until you let the word fall,
Where else could one be?, I wondered.
You loved words that way, trying out the new,
settling on favorite phrases, turning them,
chewing on their shapes and sounds, following
their threads wherever they might lead.
Now, all those years having gone wherever
the years go, I can only be grateful that
my whereness and yours found each other,
however briefly, breathed the same air,
shared the same silences, laughed at the same
absurdities you couldn't help but challenge.
You demanded much but expected little,
your lack of faith in others a religion unto itself,
yet never questioning where we belonged,
and never doubting that we would live forever.
