You gotta love strangers,

Especially the ones that

Stare at you with hungry eyes and

Remind you that you’re beautiful

In the most inappropriate ways—

Reminded you that

Your curves were a force to be reckoned with,

Made to be embraced by the man who

Would fill you with his love and

Watch you push into this world a life

You’d cherish above your own.

You gotta love strangers—

The jokester that put a smile

Where a frown had just been placed by that

Two faced friend,

That selfish lover,

Or senile grandmother.

You gotta love the cute little baby who’s

Cheeks are filled with an innocence

You wish you could claim as your own,

The loud mother not afriad to scold her grown child in public,

The lady sitting across from you on the train,

Cursing the very existance of public transit.

You gotta love strangers,

Especially the ones who

Seem to take more interest in your life than

Those you’ve known all your life—

That Jazz veteran who

Recognized the trumpet case

You were carrying home or,

That troubled father who

Recognized the eyes of a sad child once your gaze met his.

More than experiencing life with an unknown companion,

You end up learning more about yourself,

Unintentionally filling the canyon

You’ve carved within your chest

With someone who could care less about your best

Because somehow

They were intrigued by you in the now.

Yes now,

As in the dumbfounded expression you

Have when looking outside the bus window.

You yourself never knew how your

Sublte smile could

Infuse such a glow within the heart

Of a stranger.