I live in a small town; I know many of the inhabitants of my community without knowing them well. I count on our friendly random interweaving and mild exchanges.
Seen from the corner of my eye
Elaine Sutton ……Lee Driver
Let me say I knew them
I knew their history and their children and their ex’s.
Co-existing for decades
We crisscrossed in bars, the grocery store,
navigated crowded gatherings in the park
waves and hellos…few words.
My friends ?
Yes we had a certain….
Well, they were important to me
I cannot really say acknowledged.
My small life in a small town
I was content with their distance…. faint spice
a texture, a gravity of being.
I could not know: Were they happy or sad?
Celebrating birthdays I never celebrated with them.
Some gossip…some news… never that reliable.
Lee Driver quietly sicken and worsen and died.
Elaine Sutton could not overcome the cancer inside her.
Tell me again.
Yes, both now gone…. I miss our chance connection
I counted on them
To overlap/transect
And… to be seen from the corner of my eye.