distance

A measurement of space
between a word’s intent
and its interpretation;
The isolation felt from failed words;
maroonage from unbridgeable experiences.

Distance
is how we name continents
that quietly rise and spread
between people in conversation,
sending them adrift to separate shores.

While two people speak
with the intimacy of proximity,
a jarring comment
may abruptly reveal
they no longer occupy
the same terrain of meaning.

Often,
to their horror,
in retracing steps,
they find they no longer refer
to similar maps
or perhaps, even
to the same compass.

Distance
is the shadow
of their past
understanding.