I don’t want to, but I must speak of it,

the walk home from my exam tonight.

It was dark out,

The kind of dark

A mother would approve of,

And right away I could tell

This was one of them.

A night

Full of random lights

And random people

All moving diagonally of each other.

And suddenly

We all could have been anywhere,

Doing anything—

Walking home from work,

In the city for pleasure,

Meeting friends on the corner,

We could have been anything.

I saw a car that looked like a taxi

and I swore I was going crazy,

but I refused to stop.

What kind of person would interject

Such a beautiful kiss?

The wind was a warm wind

It fluttered around without restraint,

Encouraging play.

There was no harshness about it,

Nothing to insinuate

it’s wanting to be alone.

Leaves ran along my feet

And among the other diagonal shoes

I wondered if I ran with them,

Who would join me

I kept looking around,

Entranced by all of the kind lights

Which are always so breathtaking

in silent, rare,

wild nights

They’re the really late ones,

That go by too fast,

That break curfew,

That are completely worth it.

I could smell the distinguishing fire

So fresh in the air,

Hear the muffled voices of happy company

I don’t care what anyone else says,

Tonight is a summer night.

Like how they are

back home sometimes.

I could see myself in my bed

All over again;

Windows open.

Eyes shut.

Ears up.

Head down.

Nose awake.

Mind asleep.

A fleeting night.

The kind where once you go indoors

You can feel right away that

Something truly magical is

Being missed

You know,

Something indescribable.

And if you try,

Somehow

That magic goes away.

Turns ordinary.

Which is why writing this scares

The shit out of me.

Because going past

Wasn’t just a skateboarder

with headphones on.

In that moment he was the epitome of life

And rhythm.

He shook his head

And bopped his hands,

Moving to more than just the electricity in his ears

He could feel it all around him,

He simply couldn’t help himself.

I doubt anyone else saw

But he saw me watching.

I doubt he even knew how alive he was

Because he wasn’t keeping track.