to think ourselves slaves
to affection—
to assume what we seek
above all is closeness.
But in truth, what we
crave is a strange
combination
of intimacy
and remoteness.
Perhaps that's why
in centuries past,
brave men
would helm the sterns
of great boats,
and, spurning common sense,
sail off the edge
into seas unknown
only to yearn
for the first sight of land
and dream under bright stars
of their dull
lives back home.
