Counting

Numbers are useless, yet many have counted
the numerous ways people say their goodbyes.

How many of it we've seen: a slow hand waving
where before that was an embrace, a slow release,

a peck on the cheek, or simply, a pat on the back.
Certainly, more useless counting follows during the wait

for their return. Perhaps this was how patience was
discovered: when a man long yearned for a friend to arrive.

Once, I crossed a road on a summer’s night. The numbers
went about meaningless, and yet to count the stars

knowing the great distance of home, to gather
understanding of the plight back, made perfect sense.

Over the Gate 
February 2011