Twinned

We are refugees from a war
That only we saw
Skinny limbs curled around each other
As though a little more warmth
Might be had from two than one…

We are opening our eyes and,
Seeing the hope of a returning.
We are slowly, slowly uncurling,
And remembering how to be
Two people…

Do you feel as I do,
Drunken from deception,
Pretending that I am standing
Just fine alone…

Do you reel as I do,
Dizzy from destruction,
Pretending it wasn't me
Spending nights… alone…

We are slowly growing borders
Between where one person ends
And where another begins,
Letting me breathe…
On my own…

We are slowly learning to see one another
As people do, ye to eye
Far enough away so you’re not a blur of
Color and motion making me faintly sick
In your abstraction…

We are slowly, slowly uncurling
We are slowly becoming two
Who maybe, just maybe,
Be able to love
As people… do…


Lyric by Reshmal Sanyal, first published on FITK August 16, 2007

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