Roberto

                   Roberto

Far, far in Costa Rica, far away

My friend reads sonnets/villanelles by me.

He reads so closely what these poems say

That, apprehending, he reveals that he

Reads deeply like a CT scan, or like

An X-ray — or electron microscopes.

If lines contain an agony like spike

Through chest, or lion’s teeth through antelopes,

The piercing reaches not just mind but vessels in

The heart.  He comprehends and comprehends.

He finds the hidden loves.  He finds the sin.

My world needs many more far close-up friends.

  If only Musk, or Bezos, Gates, would pay,

    The best of souls would not be faraway.

Phillip Whidden