To Touch

We are in the midst of

“time in four directions”

by Claire Whitehurst ©

clairewhitehurst.com

To Touch

We are in the midst of 
a full and deep conversation
when I start speaking about something
that might seem unrelated
so I say
"We're going off on a tangent now.”

And she responds
“Are we?”

At the time, I think it 
a curious response
but don’t say so as I dive headfirst
into my announced tangent.

But later this occurs to me:
Perhaps she knows that
we never really go off on a tangent
because
we are 
always
telling

the same story
none the less
all the more
even still

perhaps
some new part of the same story
the back story of the same story
some dog-eared, repeated part of the same story
the next page of the same story
the behind-the-scenes action of the same story
the denouement we long for of the same story.

Tangent
comes from a Latin word meaning
to touch.

“We're going off on a tangent now”
to touch what’s always been there
to touch what’s newly arrived
to touch what might yet be
to touch what’s seen and what is unseen
to tell 

the same story
none the less
all the more
even still. 


By Ellen Gabardi
July 2026

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