Ahab

hello dear friend
have I met you before
have i seen the laughter
that reality tore?

did I meet you when
you discovered that your actor
was a w***e
stuck in a cell
eight by ten
and keeping score

or did we meet at a park
with pajamas confused
and a dog amused
smiling at fate's fantastic hand
looking for meaning in the word
understand

I wonder if we met
at some heavenly gates
with air thinning
pressure rising
taxis chasing
the hedgehogs in the valley

or could it we
that we met
in the thunder and rain
that you willed to be
in your quest for eternal
tranquility
upon hasty retreats from
Italy or Spain

did our meeting silence
the thousands of mines
that surrounded our walk
upon a hill sublime


among laughing dogs and scavenging bears
eight by ten parks and heavenly gates
in hasty retreats
from mine fields in spain
we have met
and planned on
meeting again

hello dear friend
i've met you before
and each passing meeting
brings me closer to shore

i would've never guessed that porcupines float in the water