Absence has no power without the mind,
which has its own long oceans, dark continents too,
or becomes suddenly a sun, and, so inclined,
abolishes the distance in me, in you.
Silence has no power when inner speech
makes a playlet of your starkest fears.
And how am I cast when I cannot reach
you? A nameless stranger shut away from tears.
Doubt has no power. Yet there we must stand
when trust is broken. Then our wisdom fails.
We're blind. And even this gentle reprimand
adds another sickness to whatever ails.
But mind can also mend, expunging blame.
Can love be love which does not do the same?