So I cheated. I eliminated the need for that one more word.

Ah, there  you are. It's been awhile since we've had you around; you're most welcome to stay - forever, if you may.

Recognised myself.

In just that flashing thought;
"If this is a test -and even if it isn't - I want to ace it."



Tears creeping into our voices
One of frustration, the other sorrow
Both hearts breaking
One like ceramic, the other shadow

 
As she spoke of her ambition, her dreams, her passion, it stirred something within me
Voice of one kindred spirit to another
It stirred the embers of the very same in me, soul artist and writer, needing art as a body needs the air

 
And why we both turned the other way than we first intended to go, neither one knows. We just needed to be alone with our thoughts, and the voice of a kindred spirit.



I am convinced
This is my gift
To feel for others, as they feel
If not half of it, at least
understanding the vein of it, through which runs the heat of emotion, the spark of life;
For which man truly lives who does not feel?

 
So then am I naturally equipped with that which tunes one in to the very essence of life, which is the emotionality flowing through us all? Recognisable threads, ironic differences, stark exposure, veiled intentions; have we a moment more precious than when two souls are no more, no more than a single drop in the ageless stream?


Stood still and wrote, wrote it all out before I could take another step
Here in the half dark, in the humming silence and burning cold,
in the ghostly presence of what used to be.

So much can change in a couple of weeks; how can we discount the value of a year?

Yet, consider in your heart
Just what is causing you pain?
More than that which has once brought you joy,
Is there more than wounded vanity and carelessly bartered hopes?


So these people sitting in their shells, their caves, their selves,
It may not be known to them, but some are simply waiting for a hand to reach right in and shake them, shake them and say Wake up, without ever speaking the words.

Maybe we all need people like that, if only for a season.