Relative Something

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It doesn’t all begin right here

How many things forgotten are saved in the top dresser drawer

Six moods experienced since late last night

All the ways to get from there to here

Pictures of full moons that I never took

Forests of trees that have been made into books

Random memories still around from elementary school

And dinner I don’t recall from several days ago

News constantly breaking that I don’t even know

Which obviously never matters to the actual facts

Feeling okay at the same time that I’m not

A morning paper that only occasionally arrives

Ageless illusions that shiver and fade like a carnival game

Favorite songs that change more often than socks

Walking just far enough to still make it back

Ecstatic energized laughter of a teenage girl on a road trip with her best girlfriends

The last gulp of water that leaves nothing but ice cubes

The way a singer’s voice breaks just right

Irony that gets missed so often it’s not

Sinking under the weight of waiting so awfully long

Noticing when bitter cold gets described as being “not terribly warm”

Savoring the flavor in our most favorite bites

Wishing for something that can’t possibly happen

That ubiquitous mug that holds so many cast-off pencils and pens

The unidentifiable sounds a house makes all by itself

Unquestionable adoration from a dog that would equally betray

Returning again and again for the same unexpected surprise

Thinking about ice cream ten times more often than actually eating it

Working the program with old school cool aplomb

Dancing when nobody is watching because that’s so much more authentic

Wishing it would rain so you didn’t have to go

Going anyway and having a better time than we ever imagined

Counting the ways until you forget what you’re counting

Looking at what’s right in front of us and recognizing the genuine still-life portrait we can see

The color of the sky during the minutes both darkness and light are visible

Asking the right question knowing full well the answer is all wrong

Arriving on time at the last chance saloon

Patiently listening even though they are talking too loud

Writing down each thought just as fast as it comes

Then breathing deep into that moment of falling fast into a restful night’s sleep

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