SIDE BY SIDE

"Spring Break, Donut Shop",
oil, by Heidi Malott

There were lights beside a sign

for a donut shop. There were small buildings 

side by side with great ones. He wondered

if sad people were beside those who smile,

and if snowstorms were in valleys

while sunshine was blessing the summits.

He watched his coffee as it steamed beside

his hand, poor hand that sometimes

held itself out to find a friend.

He watched his thoughts as they folded

their hands in each other’s, and his words 

as they took their places on the screen, 

nouns and verbs side by side as friends.