Analysis of I’m Thankful That We’re Both Alive at the Same Time…

I’m thankful that we’re both alive at the same time,
for if the chasm of an instant were to separate us,
a moan would divide both joy and hope with a knife
and both hearts would not beat in my lines.

I’m thankful that we’re both alive on the same earth
and, like two stars in a well, we both merge a You-and-I.
It is a gift to see the other in oneself, our supplies
in a kind of forest where only melodies thrive.

I’m thankful that we’re both alive in the same life, for
a different life could certainly be the life of a worm.
And pray body to body, a prayer to one another,
while thunder rattles over us with its chains.

I’m thankful that we’re both alive with the same death, like neighbors,
a sign that he is here in this house: his light in the window.
I’m thankful that we’re both alive separate in one
and know well: of all neighbors, this one is most near.