I once checked how long it would take to travel from me to you
forty-five hours by road, two hundred and change by bike, or almost a thousand by foot
(assuming, of course, that I somehow learned to walk as quickly as everyone else - something you probably know by now isn't my style)

it's a long way, to be sure

I remember hearing - many times over - how the internet makes the world smaller
it's easier to talk to you
to figure out what it is I'm saying as I say it
to say hello and, four time zones and three thousand miles away, for you to hear me just as I do

but you were always the one who was good at talking, and I was good at listening
you were good at remembering the things I can't keep track of
good at balancing more commitments in a single day than I've held in a year
good at planning and connecting and being a warning against coming too close to the cliff's edge

there's shades of difference to everyone, but in many regards, we're opposite hues
unstoppable force and immovable object
(although immovable is being generous)

I think I might be getting a bit nonsensical
it's late, and I should be asleep
but just a few final notes

remember to find some time to rest
you don't need to keep running
time will carry you along regardless

and someday
lie down in the sunlit grass between the trees
watch as the sky ripples and fades from blue to orange to pink

where you are is just as important as what comes next

and I'll be right there next to you