You know that silhouette of two facing faces
which could be seen as a vase where a rose
or a dozen might be placed fragrantly
between them?
You know that silent couple in the restaurant
last week texting through their meals
the vase empty?
I’ve so many friends I’ve never met
connected across oceans & borders
The new world is like that
deep compassion for our dearest strangers
as unknown neighbours smile shoveling snow
I’ve always been friends with the dead
poets & painters who seem to expect
so little of me but then unexpectedly raise the stakes
The thing about the vase
of two facing faces pull one away and it breaks
By D. S. Martin
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D.S. Martin is Poet-in-Residence at McMaster Divinity College, and Series Editor for the Poiema Poetry Series from Cascade Books. He has written five poetry collections including Angelicus (2021), Ampersand (2018), and Conspiracy of Light: Poems Inspired by the Legacy of C.S. Lewis (2013). He and his wife live in Brampton, Ontario; they have two adult sons.