It isn't the beginning, but it's a reasonable place to start.

[chiwowa84]

It's night,
but it's not late.

And there are no stars.
Not like those other nights.

And I walk outside,
both knowing
and not knowing
what to expect.

I take a sip of my vitamin water-
Formula 50,
even though I never liked grape.

And I slide around my iPod,
looking for Fevers & Mirrors.
It isn't the beginning,
but it's a reasonable place to start.

I think about how,
the last time we really spent time together,
none of these things existed.

None of these things existed.

I slide my cell phone into my back pocket.
I turn the ignition of my car.

I think about how,
the last time we really spent time together,
we didn't have cell phones
or drivers' licenses.

And we didn't need them.

One hundred memories later,
my Jeep slows down and stops.
A wave.

A wave.
"Hey"
"Hi"
"How've you been?"

And there are no judgments.
And it's liberating.

And I'm glad for many things,
mostly glad he knew
he would always find a friend here.

I see a man, jogging down the road.
And I want to tell him, "Duck! 
Or you might get hit by a broken heart,
because they're flying around
like toasters on an old mac screensaver
these days."

And the night,
it dissolves into coffee and alcohol,
like sugar
or poison
or magic gold dust.

And I smile for
the things that change,
but mostly for
the things that don't.