I write carefully, thoughtfully;
Honestly,
Speech is not my medium.
In person we
Were friendly, polite.
Kept things on the level
Of colleague. A distance
Between us.
But we tapped out messages
Between our
Separate screens
About our deepest
Fears, identities, dreams.
Tears were only ever implied
By careless spelling
Or unfinished
Lines.
The night before you died
I read your last letter
And promised myself
When I saw you again
We’d really talk.
Tom Juniper Poetry 