delicate guardrails
dot the distance
of 24 to 168 inches between us
if we were close
like swinging childrens’ hands
only 18 to 24 inches
foot in plural
between the vibration of your larynx
and the twin rumble of my eardrum
did you know
in Argentina
we would be
only 15 inches
apart
in Argentina
that’s centimeters
and in Romania
51 inches would separate the tip of your big toe
from the tip of mine
dwindling mercurial frequencies
stretching
do soundwaves conduct yoga
Down Dog from one ear to the next
do they make detours
but here
only a celery stalk fits between your nose and mine
and our voices ripple
down the xylem
but it is not you
I listen to
but you, I see
ultimate conversation conducted in the width and tension of the shoulders
the bow and arch of the lip
the curve and flex in the eyebrow
cues
in queue
for my limited attention
I am glad
we have not forgotten
how to be
this close
how to speak in symphony with our limbs
parse out written, verbal, nonverbal, emotional, archival, archeological
language
drifts off in our shared universe
I am not sure if it ever arrives to you
defenestrating a poor dove to catch your attention
white flaps in dark white sky
i wonder if the words know the way to you
not refracted, reflected, ruined on the rocks
that lie on these 18 inches