Kindred

I wish I had lived on your freshman hall.
everyone abuzz with the promise of a new friend,
bedmate, study buddy, adderall hookup
signal loneliness with an open door
as night owls we'd flock together,
and by that I mean
I would find myself in the common space to be
privy to your late night delirium,
your existential crisis/es,
your drunken stumble,
whether you needed me or
not
I would take comfort knowing that someone found my jokes laughable,
my problems relatable,
my dreams worthwhile,
to the public, we would be almost-misanthropes but alone
we would drown ourselves in idealism and insist
our goals were substantive
Though we'd dwell in the sarcasm reserved for
those whose anger simmered, never quelled,
our kindred impulsivity would be the kind that
requires a certain kind of optimism.
We would
document our many firsts together,
as freshmen are wont to do and
the pictures would instill memories that could
triumph the limits of space and time.
you would tell me it was I who could keep you on track
to making the world something less farcical
and I would
take this perceived influence as a badge of pride
We'd match our yearning for understanding with
the right book,
as if that could keep us connected when
more than a hallway separated our minds.
Our geographic proximity would be replaced by
the active desire to seek each other out
when life got hard, or someone was easy.
Or, convenience could triumph.

I never had a muse until I met you.