Six Degrees of Separation

Six degrees of separation
Refers to the idea
That everyone
Living on earth
Is on average
Approximately
Only six steps
(Degrees) away
In some strange
And mystical way
From every other
Person on earth
So that
A chain of
A friend of a friend
Statements can be made
That will ultimately
Be able to connect
In some strange and
Mystical way
Any two people on earth
In six or fewer steps
This idea was first
Proposed by
Hungarian writer
Frigyes Karinthy
And popularized in
A play
Written by John Guare
That was later
Made into a movie
Starring
Will Smith

Assuming that
The hypothesis is true
Is such a global
Interconnectedness
A good thing
Or a bad thing?

I suppose
It all depends
On individual
Perspective
Personally
I find the idea
To be oddly
Comforting

For example
I once had
The privilege
Of meeting
President Barack Obama
At a campaign rally
Across the street
From my Philadelphia office
When he was first running
As an up and coming
Candidate for the US Senate
I am proud to say
That I was able
To shake his hand
Though I am sure
He would have
No real recollection
Of the event
Still
That single direct contact
Is the equivalent of
One degree of separation

And because I shook
Mr. Obama’s hand
Now that he has
Been elected as
President of the
United States of America
That makes me only
Two degrees of separation
From everyone that
President Obama
Ever meets and shakes hands with
During his term as President
And on an on
And so forth
And so forth
Until the last syllable
Of recorded time

Call me a romantic
If you want to
But
As I’ve stated before
I personally
Find the idea
Of such total
Inclusiveness
Of the entire
Human race
To be
Oddly
Comforting
In ways
That I find
Hard to explain

jhmarkowitz
Philadelphia, Pa. 2011