Circle of Similar Hearts — Book 2, Poem CXLI

[Intro] One heart in the hallway, counting steps alone. Then another laugh arrives and makes the place a home. [Verse 1] The student felt propensity for friendships not expected. The distance seemed too great at first, the likeness undetected. They talked and laughed together, made a little bud. Anxietude went walking out of nervous blood. [Chorus] Circle of similar hearts, find me in the strange. In a world of abnormalities, kindred still can change. Circle of similar hearts, seven lights in view. If one soul can answer mine, then five more may be true. [Verse 2] They made a wager softly: are there others made this way? The odds were tangled, doubtful, but hope refused decay. Last year turned the circle, five more came in bloom. Loneliness lost its kingdom in a suddenly larger room. [Bridge] The heart may wait through hard times, through corridors of stone. But likeness has a gravity that calls the lost back home. [Final Chorus] Circle of similar hearts, find me in the strange. In a world of abnormalities, kindred still can change. Circle of similar hearts, seven lights in view. If one soul can answer mine, then five more may be true. [Outro] One laugh became two. Two became seven. Friendship drew a map under ordinary heaven.