If I saw you on the same train
stranger as you'd have been
I might wonder your name

if I glanced your way
and you caught me
I'd die in my tracks

and if you sat next to me
without a word or a smile
I'm sure I'd never forget you.

you'll be the love of my life until my tan fades away,
then we'll walk through the halls and be strangers again

Do I remember too much about
The strangers I meet?
There was the skinny seven year old at the
Park in Detroit, who I learned liked autumn
And colorful leaves, pumpkins and Halloween,
Scarecrows and working in the garden.
There was the Japanese lady at the
Hotel breakfast in DC, calmly eating a donut,
Staring off into space, gracefully lost in her own
Thoughts and feelings.
There was the happy man at the
Veteran’s home, who talked gratefully to me
About his experiences, desperate to
Share his story.
There was the single mother on
The park bench, allowing me, a total stranger,
To watch her children while she took
A much needed nap.
There was the black man at the
Movie theater, who offered me his
Extra bag of popcorn and made sure I knew
When the jump scares were.
Do I remember too much about
The strangers I meet?
I don’t think so.
Appreciate humanity,
Because you never know when it might be gone.
Each one of these people were beautiful,
In their own way, and they weren’t even
Trying to be.
They were just living their lives,
And I was fortunate enough to be a part of them
For a short time.
You know why they were beautiful?
Because they just were.

I'm in Japan
With a
Cherry blossomed
Heart
And a sake
Breath

I see her every day
We talk
Sometimes
Most times

After

I find myself
Daydreaming
In high-corporate
Smoking rooms
And on
Tangerine rooftops
Looking at signs that
I can't read

Maybe

I can't read her signs
Speaking
Smiling
And waving too
I'm caught up in a ******
Lost in translation-cliche
But I'm not really
Bill Murray

I'm just whatever
The day paints me as
In love
With a girl
That takes too much
Color from
My palette
And paints herself
As foreign as this sun

As beautiful as she
Knows
She
Is

a nod of acknowledgement
as you walk past
that's all i get from you now
once you were my everything
now we are merely strangers

The stranger on the street is scary
The stranger behind a tree is scarier
The stranger whom we do not see
Is scariest

I met a boy in a man’s body.
I saw sadness in his eyes and experiences wrapped around him.
He marked his skin as a reminder that no matter where he wanders, he is still in search of home
At times, when his eyes met mine, I felt like he could see right through me.
Maybe, no matter how many times his eyes met mine, he couldn’t tell what my mind wanted and what my heart needed.

I met a boy in a man’s body.
I felt like maybe, just maybe, he could save me.

I met a boy in a man’s body.
He wanted affection and love wrapped with a pretty bow, but I was nothing but disheveled gift paper.

I met a boy in a man’s body.
He captured women in timeless frames and their beauty transcended, translated into eternal flawlessness.

I met a boy in a man’s body,
But he didn’t let me in.
He opened the door just wide enough for me to look in.
I am not aware of the ghosts that haunt him in his sleep, nor the ones that keep him up at night.
I’m hoping he introduces us one day.

I met a boy in a man’s body.
He had a kind face & strong arms,
Capable of holding me together when I break, when I won’t seem to mend.

I met a boy in a man’s body.
He met me, a girl, in a hollow one.
We shared a few worries & sorrows that made us into who we are today.
They parted ways, unaware if they were to ever meet again.

It started out so quietly
This timeless love we share;
A glance of someone passing
And just a momentary stare.
But in the gaze of a stranger
What should have been a mystery
Was glimpse of a past I had to know;
A tale of a fascinating history.

I didn’t think, just began to move
And put myself within that gaze
So I could find out who this was
That had set my mind ablaze.
Not so much the words we said,
Hello and how are you tonight,
It was that we said anything at all
That somehow made it all just right.

Some might think it was magic
That brought us here that night.
Some would call it a fairy tale
With that idea I will not fight.
It might not be a magic tale, or
It might be just what it seems.
Because something changed then
That fulfilled my sweetest dreams.