having conversations

I'm always dreaming about
having conversations
with people I'd like to know
I'm not talking big celebrities
or heads of first-world nations
I'm talking 'bout your local so-and-so's
people just like you
I pretend we're really friends

and we talk about the things 
that really matter in our lives
we know each other
we share a bond
sometimes I see them on the sidewalk
and I want to meet their eyes
and say hey, what's going on
I'm taking 'bout 
neighborhood strangers
I pretend we're really friends

          and real life goes on
          in that way that real life does
          with its sorry-ass excuses
          and endless  sighs of "just because"
          I escape into a friendship
          that never really was
          and never will be

so if I avert your eyes
we're only having conversations
you won't believe how fascinating you are
with your views on global politics
and survival situations
I am thinking someday you'll go far
you're another person I wish I knew
I pretend we're really friends