he was a young philosopher

I do remember thinking once

“Well,

isn’t it nice that he

is not the other half of me!”

And its quite true,

so very true,

no part of me is missing

without you.

And when I placed my hand

on your sinewy arm

I was not saying,

“We are one, now,

we are one,” but

rather that I know you are

you

and

I am happy

you are you and

it’s okay for me to touch your arm

because

whether or not we are one is

not the problem,

not the question,

not the answer.

It’s simple:

I love you –

whether or not you do

anything you ever do or

choose to choose another thing

to do.

You are not any part of me,

and that should make it all the sweeter when

with my hand upon your arm I convey:

I do love you

in my way.