Zoom

by Mary Ann Taylor, on love

We sit behind nothing

In a room, wandering

throughout the world.

Our colleague in Mumbai

Overslept, so she won’t be here—

Which is not a real place,

So two of us soldier on

Muted and (I) invisible.

Ending, my present colleague

Stops.

He says, “It’s not just work.

It’s about getting to know each other,

Respecting opinions, learning.

It’s about friendship,”

His voice, emotional.

He is always visible, you see.

Not I, but I unveil, unmute.

I agree. A friend, indeed.

Maybe that’s what any of it’s about:

Vulnerable, we comfortably sit silent:

Until

A few unguarded words shift—

Shrugging off opinions—

Toward love.