Strangers and Lovers

What distance separates
After being this intimate
And holding tight
To the one out of sight.

A stranger under the covers
The soulmate out in the open
Lovers at bay
And lovers that will not stay.

That chatter of passerby
The friendly advice
One too many
One is enough.

If not on paper

It works that way
I cannot write about someone
Unless I have felt a certain way
Unless there it is
The potential

I can no longer be without them.

I let time pass
Which I never do
Once I am inspired
I will write on the spot

Under any circumstance

On my brown skin with a marker
On the back of this flyer
Even on the magazine cover
That belongs to the hair parlor.

I think of you fondly
But my wont to write
Never comes out ardently
The paper still blank
Though I let months turn things around.

Writing is my sole indicator
If not on paper,
It will not last in time either.