I take signs from the universe seriously.
In fact, I seek them.
I puzzle over them as I do dreams.
I have nothing against science, mathematics, statistics.
I know I benefit daily from advances, great and small.
But, I leave experiments, studies to experts.
I like to ponder the sensory and beyond.
People sometimes call it intuition or a sixth sense.
It’s elusive like a flash.
An instant of comprehension explaining,
reassuring, satisfying at once.
When I find myself in the middle of one of these moments, the mundane shifts shape.
Magic!
Like a phenomenon happening yesterday.
I sorted clothes from the dryer.
Folded them in groups.
One, only one, of my white Gold Toe socks was missing.
I accounted for all my items before washing, drying.
The loss of one was not possible.
I checked both machines, under the bed, among the piles.
Nothing.
I placed the unmatched sock upon my bureau.
Alone, lonely, unpaired.
I even sensed a tiny tinge of sadness in myself.
A wish to touch it, console it.
Late that night, after many hours elapsed,
Bob exclaimed:
Your sock! I found it in the armpit of my shirt sleeve!
Warm, cozy, cared for, I thought, relieved.
From his perspective, the mystery of the lost sock solved.
From mine, a communication just opened.
An affirmation.
Validation.
Though different sizes, contours, genders, Bob and I fit.
Sock in sleeve.
Not quite the same
as hand in glove,
but snug, deep in sleeve.
Near the heart, felt love.
Lynn Benjamin
October 19, 2021