You, Not You

For the friend whose mind is justifiably elsewhere...

Where are you, if you're not here?

And who, with a hearty laugh,
clinked her glass against mine
to salute companionable misery?

Surely you're in there-somewhere-

Never one for screaming,
perhaps then...you are dreaming
inside yourself
kerneled in that perfect center
and burrowing deeper still.

Who is this, then?  This pseudo-friend
who dances kamikaze like you?
She brushes your hair,
straddles your chair,
and does all that you dare to do.