Knowhere

I stand on the edge of the world, my feet ready to walk. I feel only a light breeze and the weight of the bag I carry, filled with selected belongings to ease my journey. I know what lies behind me, but not what’s ahead. If I did, it would not be the same.

I take a moment to breathe and fill myself of this instant of stillness. I am on the threshold. I have no plan to review, no last-minute thing on my mind. I am liberated of having to know what the fuck I’m doing.

On my path will be strangers of all kinds, to whom I’ll be completely unknown. Fresh. New, in a way. To them, I won’t have a personality to uphold or a standard to live up to. I’ll be some guy they might have noticed in the crowd or who walked into their store. Maybe I’ll have asked them for directions, fumbling a couple words in their language with a large smile and open eyes. Perhaps they will have come to me, curious about who I am or the reason for my presence.

What will follow will be completely up to us. Either they will take some of their busy time to show me something they find special about the surroundings, or I’ll find a way to make them laugh or think of a story to tell with a mix of pantomime and words. Maybe we’ll just go on with our respective businesses without establishing any specific contact.

Or maybe, just maybe, in a blink of a moment, a gate will open. Out of the random contact, a spark of mutual understanding will fly about for the shortest of times. An eye-to-eye look, a furtive nod, a smile, a sincere handshake, a slight bow. An extra fruit in my order. A piece of candy handed to their wide-eyed, staring child. A fragment of humanity.

But as of now, none of that has happened.

I am simply standing, my hands in my pockets, in front of the unknown. What great marvels and terrible plights will unravel before me, no one knows. Wonders, horrors and everything in between are the cobblestones on a path I make, not one I follow.

At the end of this thought, while the world spins and turns, I take a first step out of time and into life.

For A Friend

You are a good friend.
Family to me.
You’re fun loving and festive
You’ve got a loud mouth and a big heart

I don’t know why
You have to endure such heavy clouds
Darkening the new horizon
You’d set out to reach

There is no explaining
The obstacles suddenly rising
All that remains now is uncertainty
Apprehension and disorientation

Please don’t fear, my friend
The days ahead of you
You are not alone

I will not try to fill
This chaotic void
With shallow phrases
Common places

I wish upon you
Strength, calm and will
So whatever comes your way
You can take with serenity

Never forget, my brother
You are surrounded with an invisible force
It is a fortress of love and friendship
With walls indestructible

Whether the hours grow dark
Or the path clears ahead
No matter what you face
We will be by your side.

I Still Dream of You

It’s been years, I know,
Since the first time our paths joined.

Never before had I met someone like you,
Calm, serene, gracious and sensual,
You are beautiful.

It took some time for us both
To get closer, to give this all a chance
In our own way,
We were both fragile, broken and afraid

What we discovered was an absolute wonder
You felt my strength and my will,
And I received your tenderness and your trust
What was unsure and bruised started to heal and bloom

The bond that was created
Never weakened or faded
Even when we went our separate ways
And with the passage of other companions

When life gets calm around me
In my travels, or in alone times
I always come back to you

You extend a hand
Put it softly on my cheek, like you always have
Your tender smile and your look upon me
Still spring the same feeling of peace
Still bring me home

What I have said to you once, I still mean
And will for the rest of my life
You’ve never left and I’ve never turned away

The bond remains,
Because I still dream of you.