In The Distance Between Us

By David Allaband
March, 2010

Could I,
in this space
know what it is
to be this place?

Could I,
in this distance
between us,
learn what it is
to be,
and know
a little
of another?

To touch
all that is
but is not?

All that is
that is not
inside?

For in this distance
between us
I am
and nothing else.

End

This written in response to Evi Jundt’s call for submissions on the theme of “Sanctuary.” My place is the distance between myself and all things. Be that space large or small, it is my sanctuary, and I claim it all.

Some don’t understand the isolation of this piece. It helps to know that “another” in line twelve does not necessarily refer to another human. “Another” in line twelve refers to anything that is that is not and that is also not myself. “Another” is everything outside me aside from open space. The word “another” might be replaced with nature, or god, but I chose to make it sound like a person, to express the distance one can feel when any space between bodies is sanctuary. Sanctuary isn’t always good.