I went out for a walk
The other day
9 in the morning
The breeze in the heat felt like grace
Def Leopard in my ears
My mind a million miles away
When I saw a woman
Walking my way
She was taking out the trash and
Something burned in me
This short fragile woman
Shouldn't be out in this hot degree
I said "maam, I can take that for you"
And she offered to pay me
That proposition blew my mind
I laughed and said that's not necessary
She told me about her husband and
How it's been 4 months since he's passed
I said "I'm sorry to hear that"
She said "livin alone's been pretty bad"
She talked about how
He never raised his voice, not even a bit
Every morning before he left for work
He brought her breakfast in bed
They'd been married for 43 years
20 years her elder
She said she wouldn't find a man
Who could treat her any better
In that 30 minute talk
I felt like I lived her life with her
It's amazing the impact people can have
If only we would reach out to help another

love knows things i do not.
love knows your hand on my cheek,
it knows what your lips taste like,
what your sheets smell like in the morning,
your legs tangled with mine.
it knows the light falling in your room,
the dust over your bookcase,
which books you haven't touched in years.
love knows what you say when you're upset,
the insults that you don't mean,
how you cry when you're angry,
how you sit at the end of the bed
with your hands in your lap
and stare at the linen while mumbling an apology you wrote on a napkin before coming home.
love knows that you will come home.
but,
i know things love does not.
i know what it feels like to search for answers
that aren't written for me.
i know the distance between us.
i know every mile.