Suddenly he sees me.

Suddenly he sees me.

And when he sees me, I hide nothing; I am an open book. If someone makes me go radioactive with just their presence, I want to make sure they know – he knows – what he is stepping into. If I let him in, I don't know if I'll ever be able to ever

let

him

leave.

I stare him down in a wave of defiance, dousing every premonition I have of being mentally incapacitated by telescopic eyes that swirl like constellations being born and reborn and born again, the twinkle in his eye just shy of coy–

And when he laughs, I laugh with him. I let his voice carve out dimples into the cartilage of my ears because maybe it is the only thing I want to hear; if I die right this instant, it will ring in my head and sing me to sleep.

Friends, he says.

Friends.

I make a map of our stars, and I have a revelation; we are far from those familiar waters.

When he threads his fingers between mine, his eyes sparkle with revelations of their own.

If life was a midnight blue sky, and every speck on it a person, John is the evening star.

He is brighter than them all.

$∆L

after a while, i thought i would never find you
i convinced myself that i would never find you

and suddenly i see you