Is this emptiness?
wrapt about my finger, a familiarity absent
beside me in the darkness, a whispered silence
enfolded in my arms, a space beneath futile caresses

Or is it presence?
of distant fingers wrapped in mine across the miles
of memories of breath and nearness in the dark
of dreams of touched and touching, of honey and of fire....

So I judge by my heart,
and am answered not by the chafing of an absent ring
nor by the silence of a lonely darkness
nor by the ache of arms unfilled

But by a presence
which flows around this hand like a glove
which touches me in the darkness as a comfort
which holds me and caresses me like the dawn

And like the manner of our God,
this is an absence which shines,
this is a silence made to sing aloud,
this is a comfort reaching from shadows....

So
By this silence, I learn my voice
By this separation, I learn union
By these fears, I learn love

I love you