i don’t believe in
soul mates,
The One,
you complete me,
i’ve been waiting for a girl like you,
a feeling deep in your soul says you were half now you’re whole.

but i did have a dream once:
i stood outside my childhood home
and a party buzzed and clattered within.
and my guide (faceless person)
said my soul mate was inside.
i wandered slowly,
scrutinizing each face:
is it you?
hmm… no.
let’s see… no.
maybe? no.
ewwwww! no!

at first, i was unhurried;
later, i grew troubled:
the crowd had thinned,
maybe he’d left,
while i was wasting my time
with my who’s who
of what-might-have-beens-and-thankfully-weren’t.

in the last room
he turned,
you turned,
and smiled,
plaid shirt and jeans.
(where are your glasses?)
and the great thing about dreams is,
you get to be surprised
by the predictable.

i woke up, and the dream,
everything,
vaporized; i was bereft,
but a miracle happened—
you didn’t disappear.

i believe in
choices, experiences,
quiet over breakfast,
a hello at the end of the day,
the heaven in ordinary things,

and this dream.

but i don’t believe in soul mates—
although if i did,
you’d be it.


Happy Birthday, dear R.