Gratitude for a Stranger

Thank you for asking if I have eaten every night at seven.

And if I say I haven’t, you’ll rush at my door and we’ll 

walk to our favorite spot to eat, talk and bask not in our food

but in the presence of each other’s company.

Thank you for the unspoken language of love,

expressed with every touch, every glance, and in the silence.

That even though the right words were unuttered,

the rhythm of our heartbeats articulate what we truly feel.

Thank you for playing this emotional tug-of-war with me

and letting me win this game even though

I surrendered completely even before it has begun. 

And though I kept on raising my white flag,

you kept on pushing and pulling by your lonesome,

just because this game is the only thing that connects us,

the only thing that makes us feel alive,

and the only thing you know that will remind me of you.

Thank you for giving me my space

while you watch from a distance tearful.

You never got tired of pulling while I kept on pushing.

But despite that, you let me think I won the game

though I don’t really know how it worked.

Thank you for allowing me to figure this out on my own.

But it was too late, I’ve learned the mechanics

when you’ve found a new match to play with.

So now it’s my turn to just watch you from a distance tearful.

Thank you for still playing the same game that connected us,

for the stolen side glances that speak for us in the silence,

and for continually dancing the rhythm of our heartbeats 

in the quietness of our passion.

Thank you, even though you don’t know it,

your memories give me reasons to be delighted,

your memories paint my dull routine,

and the slightest pain that your memories bring, give me blissful recollection.

Thank you for not telling me that this is all an illusion

and for not confirming it all happened

because this mystery gave me reason to be alive- 

to still play this game while we both watch each other from a distance tearful,

not with resentment or regret but with grateful hearts that yearn.