Adventure!

Inside the Fish

My hair in my face,

The look my mother gave my father,

The way our dog barked and

The thumping of her tail.

People and places and moments

Come and go from me.

One after another, after another,

Until the next comes then goes.

The reflection behind the reflection.

Standing, staring, waiting.

The smell of rosemary and ginger

(Always in the kitchen, always during winter),

The faces of strangers I remember from my youth,

The voice of the peddler out on Boylston Street,

The way I sign my name -- just

Like my sister.

Not knowing who I am or

Where to go. Whether or not

I should say hello
Or goodbye or

Nothing

At all.

The stagnant silences,

The road I took to get here,

Wondering how many times I've

Slid my feet across these stones,

How everything builds

One on top of another

Slow and Steady.

The dirt at the bottom of a mountain.

The dirt at the top.

Wondering, if there is any difference.

Not knowing who I am

Or if it matters.

The note he gave me, still in my wallet.

The apology he skipped, still lingering on.

The taste of fall in the morning

The taste of toothpaste in the evening

My aunts and uncles and grandparents

And all those that came before and with and after.

The prayer you pray alone.

The prayer you pray at church.

The prayer you pray for your family.

The prayer you pray for your friends.

How really, they're not that different.

How really, no one wants to be alone.

How really, no one is.