A dent, a scratch, a reminder.

For as many plans as we make and intentions we set,
there are times when everything is just a little bit out of hand.

But for every plan that didn’t make it,
there are surprises and moments that find you along the way.
There are moments that need you as much as you need them.

Sometimes, we intend on going somewhere far and adventurous.
But find that the week was a journey itself
and all you need is some friends, falafel tacos,
a good movie and a touch of wine.
What we needed is often closer than we think.

Sometimes you need to feel all the things
and you need people to sit with you through all of it.
And you sit until you can see light in it,
and you sit and feast on good food while you do.

Sometimes you intend on being on time,
ready and willing, and life throws you something humbling.

A dent, a scratch, a reminder:
Hey, you make mistakes,
you did a dumb thing,
you can do that,
you’re a human.

And you sit in the foolishness of it all,
and your friends jump in
and swim with you
until you can fish yourself out.

Sometimes you eat the best unexpected
vegan breakfast in a grocery store
to set the tone for the best unexpected rainy hike.

Sometimes, you come across a treacherous trail
that brings you to a river clearing, lovely and bright,
and suddenly your legs wobble less, a little stronger, bolder.
You stumble upon a majestic bamboo forest.
And it rains. And it’s sweet.

You read poems under the canopy of trees,
damp, bamboo singing with rain sliding.
You hold the hollow tree close
and feel it dance with every breeze,
welcoming each force of movement
but grounded and resolute.

We ask ourselves if certain things will ever be enough,
if we ourselves will ever be enough,
but we look at one another knowing,
wow you are overflowing with more than enough.

You are a miracle
and a piece of art in progress,
colored in and textured with childhood traumas and parental pasts, highlighted by triumphs and mountains climbed,
still in the works, brave and fighting, soft and healing.

If you could only see what I see, we echo in our hearts.

We walk and walk some more, side by side,
slipping past each others at times,
looking down, up, to the side and forward.

Together, we’re walking.
And it’s what was needed.
It’s what we need.

We’re still growing, changing, learning
to see who we are and who we’re capable of becoming,
accepting who we have been.

We’re mirrors to each other,
reflecting what is true, good,
and sometimes difficult.

And it’s so precious and rare
to have met at all in this weird, random life.

To be walking, side by side,
what an honor.