Away — Clelia Vahni Lewis

When you are away, you always call

even if you are just around the corner.

“Do you need any groceries?” (I probably do)

“I’m getting the oil changed.” (I’m grateful)

But especially when you are far away

in some other city, or in a resort town

on a breezy beach under blue sky

walking barefoot on the sand.

You call me and show me where you are

you share the sunshine; I can smell the salty air.

You turn the camera around so I can see

your sweet old toes strolling joyfully in the cold water.

We talk some, but what we really do is listen.

We feel the space between us, we breathe, we exist.

I feel delight knowing we are both here in the world

and each in our own world at the same time.

I like looking through to yours, your happy face after

a day or several days of hard, solid work, smiling, at ease.

We are not the same, but we meet here

in the ineffable simplicity of being.

It’s a secret chamber in the heart.

When you are away, you always call.