I am a unit.
Connected yet apart.
With and yet without.
I wander alone in this populated world full of people,
merging momentarily.
confluence becomes divergence.
each time we come together we must separate and
form our own tributaries,
like chasms and continents,
floating further adrift until
we form new clusters of land
that break off and drift again.
like herds of animals we travel
until schisms take hold
and then we wander barren
landscapes in search
of resources for survival.
we strive to stay alive
and protect our young.
we are like flocks of birds that disperse
to find shelter from the elements;
like shoals of fish until one of us gets dragged down
by the undertow.
ever yearning for junctures of relatedness;
Protection, reflection, connection.
In those instants our bonds are eternal.
In the in-between those moments are
Necessary, transitory, internal.
In the solitary we discover our sovereignty; our self love.
we can journey together;
Our paths may cross with force or passion,
though even fathers and mothers,
sisters and brothers,
friends and lovers
must always find their own course.
And I must do too.