Roots Do Not Grow In Straight Lines

You are the reason for why roots do not grow in straight lines, For you are persistent enough to realize how dull Life would be without the tangling of words and fingers Rather than roads and interstates Distance lodges itself in the definition of numbers But we constantly forget how often it slips In between the creases of our palms When we refuse to blink our eyes away from the sun. There is love. But there is lack of it too, (I think), When such time is only lapsed by the culmination of our fears-- Fears of streetlamps That bleed false light on tomorrow. Fears of commas That leave enough silence for eye contact. Fears of numbers, for math does not know pain. You are a deceiver whereas I am a non-believer And although the stars were always beautiful in your eyes, They were always real in mine. So believe me when I tell you that You are the reason for why roots do tangle, Why distance is more than a number, Why stars on a map and stars in the sky differ solely by geometry, Why one day the only Earth we have ever known will die, And yet we will all live for tomorrow Because without such hope and such despair, No words would be needed so.