Shining

Today I met a man without a name. When I looked at him he looked my way. I was curious as to who this man really was, so I tried to group my words in my mind, but I couldn’t find the ones that form my thoughts. So I stood there, and he stood there, silently staring in complete wonder and amazement. The moon was shining through a window behind him and I wanted to say What a beautiful moon we have tonight. But it seemed to soon to ruin the silence with unnecessary sound. So, I stood there, silently staring into his eyes, which were a deep, dark brown. We seemed to have an entire conversation without ever opening our mouths. He said he’s gone through half his life and not a single moment has passed by that he’s a bit proud of. And I said I, I can change that. I can give you a life that you can take home to your parents, that you can brag about in your locker room rants to your, so-called friends, to your quasi tolerable co-workers who can’t stop bragging about the promotion that they got and you thought you had in the bag. He listened, though he saw a future that I didn’t. I couldn’t see that it was just a fantasy that I couldn’t get out of my head. Soon, he made me see. He made me see the closed doors and the broken floor boards of this not so squeaky clean dream. Today I conversed with man, he had no name. And without ever once opening his mouth, he told me about the nothings that cloud his entire life so far. I looked at him and he looked my way. I couldn’t help but figure out that his life mirrored mine. A life like a cloudy April day. Staring into the doorway of our future selves, we couldn’t speak. And when I say we, I really mean me. Because I’m silently staring into a combination of silver and glass made to reflect the innermost self. But who am I? Who is the man that stares back at me?