There can be no knowing
without intimacy.
There can be no intimacy
without consent.
There can be no consent
without trust.
There can be no trust
without familiarity.
There can be no familiarity
without proximity.
There can be no proximity
without luck, or God, or whatever you call providence
that you may or may not believe in.
Yes,
you can know someone
without being intimate,
but that knowledge is not very deep.
Yes,
you can be intimate with someone
without consent,
but that intimacy is not freely given.
Yes,
you can have consent from someone
without trust,
but that consent is not perfectly honest.
Yes,
you can be trusted by someone
without familiarity,
but that trust is not properly earned.
Yes,
you can be familiar with someone
without proximity,
but that familiarity is not truly genuine.
And where you are not genuine,
you will always lack depth.
Intimacy can be stolen.
Consent can be forced.
Trust can be broken.
Familiarity can be pretended.
Proximity can be artificial.
So why go on?
Why wake up in the morning?
Why engage with another human?
Because of hope.
Because of authentic people.
Because of truthful speakers.
Because of patient listeners.
Because of me.
And because of you.
