Today’s church sermon was about being a good friend – a topic I think we’ve all given thought to as we form relationships and meet people over time.  I know, at least, that I’ve struggled with what it means to be a good friend throughout the years and it has been on my mind lately.  When I wrote my Digital Divide: Poems book throughout this past year, I thought much about friendships and the connections we make/maintain online – they became the topic of a number of poems.  Like everything in life, there are both negatives and positives.  You can’t have one without the other – and that’s okay.  It is William Blake, after all, that tells us that “without contraries is no progression.”

This poem Without You from my Digital Divide collection speaks of the good side – of my appreciation for the people in my life and the technology that helps keep us together.

-cct

Without You
by Charity C. Tran

If I did not hold
A place in this digital space
Would I be without you?

If experiences were mapped
By string
Threaded and multiplied
Across this network these networks
Would I find my way
Home to you

I want to believe
That it is not this online space
That keeps us alive
That it is not this digital place
That is the heart of our connection

I do not think that this is true

I would not be here
You would not be here
If we were just
Almost faceless friends
Connected by
A confirmation button

But it would be a lie
To not recognize a pulse
That could be faint and threaded
That could run strong and true
Along this line
That leads me
Connected to you

So while I would rather
See you from across the way
To hear your voice
The magic of your laugh
Unwedded from this web
I am glad to not be
Without you

Pictured: Tulips of Friendship, Washington D.C.: A Gift from the Netherlands.