Poems to Jian - 2. The zip-line smile

The zip-line smile

My gaze soars to the horizon
Towards another land,
Flying high above human frontiers,
Crossing plains and mountains and,
Beyond a sea or two,
Reaches a city in the desert.

My imagination shatters the hourglass
Disregarding the fabric of time.
Tonight I’ll hear your voice,
Tomorrow I’ll see your face,
Soon I’ll be hugging you, and one day,
Beyond a year or two,
We will turn a promise into reality.

My mind is unafraid of what sets us apart
And yearns to discover
A myriad things about you:
Culture, language, tastes, fears and dreams.
Beyond the pale and amber shades of our skins,
Beyond the uniqueness of our spirits,
Grain of skin against grain of skin,
Soul against soul,
We will share all that is to be shared
And create our mutual future.

Distance is not counted
in thousands of miles.
One street away from you
Would be one street too far.

Distance is not counted
In days and months or years.
Each second away from you
Is only waiting time until I see you.

Distance is not the sum
Of our cultural differences
When your every word touches my heart
When I feel your pain, your joy, your longing,
When our hearts beat in unison
And your feelings resonate in me.

Your smile, mirrored in mine—
Like a zip-line in one scary instant,
Travelling from one side of a valley to the other—
Abolishes distances.