In the evening I was clear headed and well-rested. I had eaten well.
The sun hung thick and orange and then went to bed
Behind the trees where I lost sight of it.

Tonight I lost my fear of everything.

I strode with peace and purpose. I looked people in the eye.
Said hello. Smiled because it made me feel so good inside to do it.

The moon lit the night anyway, and the city is so bright these days.
I ate the darkness anyway when I found it, laughed it down the alleys.
Pushed it out of my way up and out into the sky
Full of so many stars.

I pushed the darkness back to where it belongs, and I didn't despise it
Something has to fill every space, even if it's darkness.

I felt the warm air off my body mix with the cool air of night.
Every street light was green when I got to it. Eventually.

Tonight I learned if something runs away, don't chase or entice it.
It will come to you if it wants to.
I learned if a circle is rolling along the grass, don't force it
To be a square so that it cannot escape your attentions.
Trapped squares are sad creations.

My breath was even and my eyes were level, my clothes fit well.
The weather was perfect because I didn't care at all
What kind of weather we were having.

Today I saw that every single thing is in motion.
Even stillness, waiting, is motion in time. Nothing is frozen.
Today when trees bent from the wind,
I saw gentlemen nodding their heads.

And when cars went by bending the sound of the air around them,
I just smiled. I know why the air lets them through.

Women were kind to me tonight and men didn't confront me.
I don't think I said more than twenty or thirty words
And not one was uttered in anger or contempt.

I couldn't imagine such a thing as contempt on a night like this.
The treelines on the distant hills were fantastic. Every detail, so amazing.

When I began my journey, I thought I'd never make it on time.
My pace was steady and I never hesitated. I never thought what I would do
If I didn't make it on time. As it happened, I made it in perfect time.

Tonight I lost my fear of everything.

My desires were mild and easily appeased. The challenges of the day
I took control of with a soft but firm grip
Made them let go of the money, then told them not to come back.

Even the reek of the kitchen sink did not cause me to avoid it.
I just took care of it, because it needed to be done.

Tonight I realize how much I love everyone who has the courage
And willingness to be their true selves in front of others,
And feel truly sorry for those who can't yet.

Maybe they never will be able to, but I will keep hoping.

I lay on the ground this morning, but I was separated from it
By a slab of cement, carpeting, a bed frame, and a mattress.
Yet I still felt the ground,
Warm like a sandbox, saw straight through the ceiling
Into the great swan constellation that hung overhead
Behind the thick blue brush strokes of the sky.

Today I hated no one, regretting nothing, remembered nothing
And my thoughts were on what a magnificent place we have the honor
To move about in. So full of sights and sounds, scents and sensations!

I felt happy with myself, the kind that pushes outward
Into the crowds and spreads itself around. Not the kind that
Devours endlessly and is never full.

I saw birds against the stars, imagine that, to see a flock
Of geese twinkle black against this immense dome they live in
And so, so much higher than that,
I saw the moon in her best attire, pleased to be reclining
And I'd have tipped my hat if I'd had one.

Today people seemed weary and in need, and I did what I could
Without entangling myself. And those in need the most were the ones
Who wanted help the least. To those I just gave a smile.

Maybe they will remember that smile.

Tonight I became an adult for the first time in my life.