An Arm's Length

I wish —
I wish there were a way
To reach you, touch you
Somehow —

Somehow, to see
Through your eyes
Hear through your ears
Know through your skin

As you sit there —
At an arm’s length
Before me
Seen — yet distant
Hearing — yet unhearing
Touched — yet unfelt

And as it has been
For years — decades —
I must now
Learn

Learn that my wish
Is unfulfillable
Impossible
And never —
Shall the twain
Meet

And walk away —
With an ache
Longing — unfulfilled
Unquenchable

But where —
Where could I go
Where this ache
This longing
Would not be

East or the West
Above or below
Inside or outside
O Lord
Where

Where —
But in sleep
And oblivion —
Can this wish subside

Do you then
Wish me asleep
In oblivion

Or

Do I
Wish so —
For there’s no escape
From my wishing

Are you a sadist —
Or am I
The masochist

Is this dark
Or light
My wish — unfulfilled
Your purpose
Fulfilled

But that one —
At an arm’s reach
Before me
Yet still sits

Unreachable
Just as you are
To me —

As a mirage —
Of water
Seen by a camel in a desert
My wish is such

Without you —
Water
O Lord