On A Conversation Like This Poem by RIC BASTASA

sometimes we must have a conversation like this:
more than friends
who have not seen each other
for twenty years
you always pat my shoulder
and hold my hand
from time to time
asking me where i
have been
and i tell you i like the way
you talk to me today
we surely miss each other
like an old book which you
lost among a stack of books and letters
and there it is
you finally find it
all pages still there
a love note still sticking
as one of the dog ears

you ask me
what do i mean by us
by me being
more than your brother?

i ask you to make a guess
and you tell me
without hesitation
a lover

i anwered
No
the guy will be too fresh
and ungrateful
of your trust

it cannot be
he cannot be i cannot be
a lover

the frame is clearly cut
on a four by four
and the picture of lovers
does not fit well

i say
i can be your brother
since you do not have any

and as an answer to
where have i been lately
i am telling you
i came from a deep sleep
definitely
not from any place where
you will miss me