Friends find each other when they’re lonely
latch onto sound, odd-paired partners holding court
like the camaraderie of smokers at a
downtown bus stop in the late, late night
strangers waiting in the calm stillness
for a ride away from town
and then a word is spoken
that bonds them in their moment
like the first touch of fingers
with one you love
and the expectation that more may be at hand.

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Chris Kelling is a fiction writer and poet who lives in the Pacific Northwest. His previous work has appeared in Jeopardy, Arnazella, and Trestle Creek Review.

Photo: yns plt