My friend’s mother loved

to draw lines for people

to differentiate forms

of love; to justify

the margins; to define

what was proper and allowed

in the eyes of her god who

said to love one another.

So many words she used

to hone the finer gradations

of such a simple task:

an act of empathy, love

your neighbor as yourself;

We only have each other.

(February 19, 2023)