she lives there now

i'm the one who use to live across the way
      a few exits down the 101
      a cell phone call away
      a gchat message anytime
      a facebook invite for all plans

now you still live there
      drive there
      call those same people
      gchat at your fingertips
      plan with familiar friends

minus one

i live here

i am the one no longer there

one less status message
one less phone number
one less invited guest
no longer counted

things have changed there
      places
      people
      regular events
      habits

in any case
i have become
the one who lives far away
the interesting one
no longer there

like the m's of my childhood
who sent typed letters
to update us on their life and work
life and work that to me
were typed words on a page
interesting to read
but unrelated to me
not even their life
just events from a far off land
events to read about
briefly
ponder in that moment
and then continue with my life

but in those typed words were a life
written about to friends
friends who were once companions
fellow travelers
who have been transformed into memories from another life

their life and mine cannot be related
events in one place cannot effect another
a friend who leaves has left the circle
a tangent only interecting at a point
one brief thought

to hear about the events i now miss
to share in the laughter--just a little
the debates and thoughts--only a bit
to believe i was missed--in a thought or two
a word or sentence was said about me
beyond a statement
she lives there now
isn't it crazy
that place that is like that
that generalization you have heard

her life is rich
yet her thoughts reach towards you too
you have shaped her words now
      the way she sees these new things
      the stories she shares
      the things she misses
      the way she interacts
and you could still

your power to encourage is strong
your words, written, spoken, typed
across time and distance
not once
in a blue moon
obligatory
but in inquiry
curious to understand
about life here
maybe

maybe in excitment
to share events
      with one who used to be there
thoughts and ideas
      with one who used to hear them

maybe to ask
about me
and who i am now
because of who i was then

and you know that better than anyone
who i was then
it is you who knows

your power to encourage is strong
your ability to connect our worlds
full of potential