subtext

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Hermeneutic Circle

“By and By, Lord, By and By”
A.P. Carter

hold hands – – then speak:
I like, or perhaps understand,
that part she told me, so

tomorrow, or the next day, I
tell it again, making it mine
(or at least imparting my shape

to the story she shaped me with)
in order to explain, or define
my self, and thus meaning,

to someone other than her
who perhaps will weave this part
of my heart into her pattern

not that what she said, or I heard
said, was like a rock dropped
through a shattering mirror, yet

a multi-foliate reflection forms
with each person as we listen, so
look into her eyes, then speak.

(December 2010)