When you lose those you have loved long
By geography
Or death,
Knowing new ones is hard.
Closeness comes slowly
And trust, and limited time.
Then you must "learn to be lonely,"
As the pop song singer sings,
More than you've ever known.
And of all your trillions of memories,
Pick and choose
The joy-bringers.
Tolerate those new pain-givers
Who, too, are learning
To accept their own.
