As it must be so, as I must know so.

But what is true,

In the bigger picture,

Is it me, or you,

Or is it us, all here,

Growing, learning, being more. 

 

I myself, was born in the month of new beginnings,                                               

With resolutions made and then broken soon after. 

The second of my family,

The one who came after. 

“My sun and moon, together at last,” 

My mother would say fondly,                                                           

As the light radiated through the windows. 

 

Me myself grew up, in a shadow.

Cast over my head from the moment I saw light. 

Grew up did I,

Yes, here and there, there and here.                                             

Moving, constantly moving,

And growing, always growing. 

 

Then learning,

       there was learning too,

In the buildings with the rows of desks, 

And under the sky with the black streets,

From my family and from others who preceded me.

There was learning everywhere, 

All around, always around. 

It was there that, 

I myself, found my first love. 

To learn how the world worked,

For she was my love and I wanted to understand.

How the stars were created in the darkness of space,

How the heart beat steady, 

And how we were small,

Us all here, so small.

 

Then there were the friends with bright eyes. 

Promising forever with a smile.

In the whispers kept in the dark,

For our ears only.

 

They were the most important. 

 

For they spoke of loyalty,

And laughter and happiness,

And future. 

 

Future brighter than eyes could see,

And minds could understand. 

To aim higher than the blue sky that sheltered us all. 

And then higher still. 

Wanting more,

Wanting endlessly to know more.

To understand the chalk numbers in front of us,

      And how to write in the letters that curled all around,

      And each other. 

Always trying to know more of each other. 

 

Then, the misadventures,

The ones that hit hard so hard,

You never feel the same again. 

And the ones that move along your mind,

Like wind on your skin. 

The troubles that are to come,

And the ones in the past.

They are us—

Every bone, every fiber, every word.

They make us more.

More us, more someone else, and more still. 

 

We all felt them together, separately,

Different and the same,

      we struggled.

Struggled with ourselves,

With each other.

With our parents who tried to understand. 

 

We continue, 

Moving, always moving. 

Forward, backwards. 

Here and there, there and here. 

And finding ourselves.

Finding the lost shadows that escaped us early on.

Finding pieces, tucked away in friends,

And enemies, especially enemies. 

 

Finding refuge. 

In people, books, and places. 

Our favorites. 

 

Making homes in people, books, and places.

The ones that will last forever, 

More often the ones that won’t last.

The ones that will be left behind, but remembered. 

For they are us and we are them. 

 

I found this in my friends,

The ones that stayed and the ones that left,

The ones that sought more,

Always more. 

And urged me to do the same. 

 

I found this in a book,

The one with the boy with the lighting scar.

The one who spoke of magic in 4,224 pages.

The one who made everything seem possible.

 

I found this in places,

The ones in the pictures,

The ones that I have yet to see. 

In the places left behind, and revisited. 

The ones I hope to visit,

Not now, maybe never,

And maybe tomorrow.

But to travel, to travel is home. 

 

Then to here,

I look forward, hopeful. 

Ever so hopeful.

To fill this mind with more, more of everything.

More of knowledge and understanding. 

And so here I sit.

 

In the building with the rows of desks,

And I hope for this. 

Exactly this moment right here,

Where you hear me and I hear you.

And we understand.

 

We understand each other.

Opinions askew, thoughts running, knowledge gained.

And we hope for more,

And we hope for more moments like this,

Moments where I can hear you and you can hear me.

And we hope to listen, to understand,

Always to understand.