I remember the night

[greenstorm]

I made my first okcupid profile the first night I left Kynnin. Kynnin was my first big love, the first person I really talked to. I sat up all night in a basement suite with my friend/new roommate answering questions about how I wanted my relationships to be.

In that profile I put this poem, and reading it feel as if I've come full circle. This is the right kind of pain for right now:

The Quiet World

In an effort to get people to look
into each other’s eyes more,
and also to appease the mutes,
the government has decided
to allot each person exactly one hundred
and sixty-seven words, per day.

When the phone rings, I put it to my ear
without saying hello. In the restaurant
I point at chicken noodle soup.
I am adjusting well to the new way.

Late at night, I call my long distance lover,
proudly say I only used fifty-nine today.
I saved the rest for you.

When she doesn’t respond,
I know she’s used up all her words,
so I slowly whisper I love you
thirty-two and a third times.
After that, we just sit on the line
and listen to each other breathe.

By Jeffry McDaniel

Comments

[graydon2]

I remember reading that and thinking I wanted to meet you.

[greenstorm]

And now here we are, years later, with limited capacity for words and connections on one side or another so much of the time but still listening to each other breathe through the internet.

[graydon2]

(emoji: wordless nod with loving fatalistic smile)