You Are Me, I Am You

A poem about a chance meeting, a simple misunderstanding, and a profound learning experience.

I met a mysterious man out walking one day
He changed my life in a peculiar way
"You are me, I am you" is all he would say.

I had simply asked him, "What's your name?"
And was almost convinced it was some silly game
when he kept repeating that we were both the same

I tried to imagine how this could be,
That I am him and he is me
For days I wondered and tried to see

I finally decided our similarities hide
And that we're really all the same inside
But our connection is severed by our pride

Our love is dampened by a world of greed
Our compassion simply gone to seed
Our suffering more to us than those who bleed

I imagined I knew the pain of he
And also his joy, and I could finally see
That I really am him and he really is me

I contemplated this for days on end
And longed to thank my mysterious friend
And learn his name for love to tend

A fantastic miracle happened one day
Out walking he happened back my way
And I was quick to greet him lovingly and say

"I understand what I had to learn from you
When you said, 'you are me, I am you'"
He chuckled and nodded, "It's nice to meet you"

Confused, I wondered why he made it so hard
To get to know this mysterious bard
But I, too, chuckled when he gave me his card:

It read: Yuarmi Iyamu