prelude

By Lisa Haugen

what is intimacy
if all that can be mutually found is
the abrupt and aloof denials
the orders
of discord, of chaos?
It is in the softness of subtleties,
the delicacy of awareness,
the tenderness that recognizes
itself
rippling and reflected and resonant in
another—
and it’s in all the strategies
we use to keep it selective,
even deceptive,
held at arm’s length.
Under the influence of one’s
own sphere,
intimacy is in the space
given
the gradual time
taken
as instruments are gently
brought into harmonic tune.