Intimacy

Written
1997

 Close but not intimate.

Two halves in a shell,

       close but a millions miles apart.

In the same car,

       but on different planets.

Reading the paper

         and drinking coffee together on the deck,

         but very much alone.

The close isolation of a subway ride.

Lost in a crowd.

The movie theater loneliness.

Privacy in the midst of people.

Love creates intimacy.

Intimacy is feelings shared.

Bare tree crowns starkly

        outlined against an apricot sky,

        a hawk on a fence post,

        the fine leather of a book,

        a well turned phrase and the smell of coffee

         when shared in love define intimacy. 

Intimacy makes possible soul dancing

       without the prideful fear of error.

An intimate glide in beauty.

The essence of symbiotic beings

        it calibrates

       the emotional ebb and flow.

At times a waltz, a tango, a jazz dance.

One leads and then the other.

Without pride,

        roles exchanged in this dance of life.

Intimacy is proximity of loving souls.

  

 

 

Notes
Do not remember the circumstances only the effort to define intimacy. I have never felt so alone as being in a crowded airplane. Nor as intimate as sitting reading and not saying a word,exchanging a glance or touching. The hibiscus photo is from the patio at a Mexican restaurant in the Sonoma wine country. It defines intimacy for sure. Many great memories.