In groups where men conglomerate there are
the personalities that seem to shine
whose seeming fault is that they do and thus
the actual fault is not because they do
and those that do not take their lead count less
unless their mindset undertakes a thought
unkind. The will has been declared a gift
the choosing up to inclinations geared
towards the good of many or of one.
It isn’t, therefore, whether you are fit
to join the company that deems you kept
or probably worth the stories you may think
they share because there is no other link
but grist. The bond, if it exists, will click
in noisy banter or in grief whose silence
slips in unobtrusive calm politeness;
there is no coupon to redeem for lapses
when a judgment is pronounced and yet
it is still understood that taking back
a wrong retort is not anomalous.
It’s par for friendship’s course and tact is not
considered a defense. The onset of
a search for kindred pieces separate
and prayed attached begins with loneliness
and when the finding stops, or if it does,
there is cessation of the sad and comes
a solitude that ponders on its half
of entering a signature-less pact.
Abraham de la Torre
