Parallel

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Arol Jan A. Millado

 

You and I

are parallel lines:

y = mx + b

and y = mx + 2b,

similar in so many ways

yet never meant to be –

 

For someone is always

two blocks away

during morning commutes,

one of us always

two moments too late

for our meet-cute –

 

Maybe, in another time,

in a faraway place,

in a parallel world,

our lives intertwine,

we meet face to face,

say our awkward hellos –

 

Maybe, there we’ll meet once,

or have a couple months together

as couples, but like intersecting paths

we grow apart from each other

until we no longer recognize

that stranger from our past –

 

Or maybe, our lines will finally align,

we nail the second first impressions,

then years go by, I ask you the question,

you say yes, the rest is written in stone:

Loving Wife, Loving Husband,

Survived by their Children, maybe –

 

But here in this instant,

fate is severing

us with distance;

we live separate lives

not ever knowing

each other’s existence.

---

 

Arol Jan A. Millado graduated in May 2021, majoring in Biomedical Engineering and minoring in Creative Writing. He was born in Lucena City, Philippines, then raised in Quezon City, Philippines, for five years before finally moving to Elizabeth, New Jersey. Growing up, he was the middle child who was passionate about both the arts and sciences. It seems as if he was always stuck in between things: two cultures, two fields, two interests. Engineering for him is his attempt to find equilibrium, to combine his creative and scientific passions. Although he is pursuing a STEM-related career, he never forgets his love for the arts. Drawing, designing, and writing have always been his go-to hobbies, especially when the Wi-Fi is not working. His pieces usually involve mathematical and scientific inspirations, and his written work usually involves wordplay, attributed to his challenging experience in learning English and fascination with languages. To him, art and science are not that different. They sometimes see the world differently, but both try to make sense of the chaos around us, and that is what draws him into both.

Arol wrote “Parallel” for Prof. Richard Miller’s Digital Decameron in his Writing at the End of the World course (Spring 2020). He later edited the piece in  Advanced Creative Writing – Poetry (Fall 2020), which was taught by Prof. Susan Miller, who selected the piece for inclusion in WHR.