Anyone

I’m smiling

I’m giddy

It could be anyone turning the corner

At this point it could be anyone

For a second, I forget

Who am I meeting?

The faces and names blur from the past and write a story of deflated nights

They started just like this

The smile, the glee, the little hop when you turn a corner fast so you can get to them sooner

Who are they?

What are you basing your excitement off of?

The story they told, not in words, but emojis

You’re adults, why are you communicating with little pictures?

Is that the best you can hope for?

You, a writer

You, a speaker

Them, someone who always seems to talk at the wrong times

You, shutting your mouth so you don’t seem too eager

You, playing the game

You hate games

Poker, chess, whatever game where the rules are simply meant to fuck with your head

Whatever game where genuineness is a loss

That’s what this is

You’re turning the corner

Who are you meeting?

Who are they meeting?

Certainly, not you

A lesser version

A bottled version

A coddled version

An “all I want is love please don’t leave me” version

They never love, and they always leave

You could’ve predicted it with your eyes closed

It doesn’t matter who it is

It’s the fact of anyone

At this point it could be anyone

At this point it could be anyone

Until one day,

The face changes and you remember

It’s this one

The others fall away

There’s no more dancing with the past

You’re solid in the present with their presence and you remain you

That’s what keeps them turning the corner

At this point it could be anyone

But one day it won’t be just anyone.

(August 22, 2023)