Struck with emotion
Sitting by the sea
Struck with the sentiment
I am grateful for what I see.
A peer through the eye.
A view from across the way.
A vision to which I relate
In my own mind
In my own way.
I am sitting in a boat
You are sitting by a sill
I am drifting on by
Our eyes catch
For a moment, still.
Two lives
Two beings
Two worlds, yet one.
Experiencing the day as to us it comes.
You are sitting in a window
Peering out by the sill
A yellow structure by the bay
A home, office or resting place.
I do not know you
Your experience of the world
I do not know your situation
How you feel
The desires that you hold.
Across the way from where I am
Across the water that stands between
Two lives, two people
Two experiences of this world that we see.
The boat that I am on
Continues on its way
The shelter where you stood
Disappears from the eye as I drift away.
I caught a glimpse of your being
I caught a glimpse of your eyes
I saw you there in that sill
You seemed to be encompassed in your mind.
I was sitting on the boat
Looking out around me
Gazing at the scenery
As I floated along the river’s scene.
I saw a beach with lots of people
I saw a plant for manufacturing
I saw a bridge and some artwork
I saw you sitting there across from me.
It seemed we both were pondering
Something deep inside our minds
As we lived the lives that we knew
And navigated our personal hills and strides.
Was that sill that you were in
That structure in which I saw
Your home and dwelling place?
Where you go to ponder your thoughts?
You see, I was sitting on that boat
With many thoughts upon my mind.
I was sitting on that boat
Trying to be present as many questions floated about
As I gazed through my eyes.
The place in which you were
Was made up of many shacks along the river’s bank
The place in which you were
Caught my eye as it looked much different than my native place.
Sometimes I think about the fact
That we are all immersed in our scene
The fact that each life in this world
Has its own story, perspective
Its own dreams.
Across the way
Along the water’s edge
Two beings, two worlds
Two experiences of the day.
Sometimes I think about the number
Of people in this world
The number of varying realities
Of cultures
The number of views through which we see.
About how sometimes it is easier
To call out differences along the way.
The variations from what we know
The variations from how we ourselves live our days.
About how sometimes I catch my brain
Making assumptions about what I see
When the reality is
We never truly know another’s reality.
In my mind, in that moment
No difference held a part
In my mind, in that moment
I felt that I caught glimpse of a beautiful moment, of a scene of life’s art.
You see, in that moment, I felt sad
A bit heavy, a bit weak.
Yet grateful and struck
By the experience of being there, to see.
That moment, when our eyes locked
A mere second of camaraderie
Two beings, unknown
Yet sharing this scene.
Were you thinking about something in your life
About a piece of your reality?
Were we both pondering our worlds
Our stories
Our days?
Were we both pondering the lessons
That we have learned along the way?
There are so many people in this world
Yet we are immersed in our own scene
How special does it feel
To connect with others,
However it may be?
The river was the Ganges
In Kolkata, India.
That dwelling along the river
Held an individual that seemed to be paused in their motion,
Pondering their thoughts.
Did I know the situation?
Did I know the person’s life?
I knew nothing more than the visual
That, in that moment, I caught sight.
I related to my interpretation
Of that moment, that scene.
I related to that pause
To that stillness that I saw.
-
In a world that calls out differences
I yearn to see similarities.
In a world that calls out differences
I yearn to learn and find connection to others around me.
I am grateful for that glimpse
From across the river
On that day.
I am grateful for that gaze
To which I felt I could relate.
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