In a lather of memory, in the coffee shop, I splashed the faces of the people I had known for a small time onto my face and thought,
how intermingled we all are in this dance, how unnatural it must be to separate or divide us
Instead let me hold the memory of what you said and did, the way you smiled—
for it is a real fragrance, a scent of humanity, we carry for one another
as precious and fleeting as the sage on the wind
Let me remember the small details about you, for that is where we are most ourselves
In the places you might otherwise go unnoticed I see you, I remember you.
Bill Pearse 
Sage: to improve memory and grant wisdom. I wish it would work as on me as well as your poem does, Bill.
Thank you,
DD
LikeLiked by 1 person
Cool David, hadn’t thought of that with sage. Best smell ever. You have it in your parts?
LikeLike
Wow. When I logged in, the picture came up. It’s striking.
I’m going back to re read the poem in its shade.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks mister! Picture is a bit disturbing.
LikeLike
Splashing other faces onto your own presents a compelling image as I read through this again – an intuitive way to acknowledge the similarities collectively faced individually.
Thank you for sharing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Jazz and thank you, appreciate that. Thanks for the note! Fun writing in local coffee shops for sure.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The picture’s a bit disturbing but I get a distinct sense of seeing the good even in, maybe especially in, what frightens us. That’s key to how we carry each other.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know! The picture is quite disturbing, grabbed that from a small town called Mancos this week. We think it’s some type of expression of anxiety, coming out of the screen. I like what you said Christopher, that’s good. Thank you!
LikeLike
I, actually, love that picture.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ha! I love that you do, I did too Jeff! Picture this, it’s set at the end of a serene footpath over a little bridge in this very small town near a community p-patch and so on, very tranquil, and then THAT just appears, no caption or explanation or anything. It just “is.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
What’s the magic bullet to convince teens to stay sober? I can’t imagine what anyone could have said to me. Sometimes I fantasize that I called my parents from college and said “Hey, I’ve got a problem.” What would have happened? What would have changed?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Dude that is one great question, I’m hopeful after 12 weeks we are much closer to that magic bullet as it were. It’s insane on so many levels. I could talk your ear off and would be fun to banter back and forth for sure. Thanks for asking the question, it’s a big one.
LikeLiked by 1 person