Moonlight

At the corner of Avenue road and Ellington There was a delicatessen on the northwest side of the street I met my aunt there on my 21st birthday to grab something to eat That was a moment that changed just about everything Such a kind and thoughtful gesture from our past adventures When she was my chaperon From the East Coast to the West Coast and then back home She handed me a silver ring with an ordinary stone One that I had picked up on the beach nearly 20 years ago Growing up, I wanted the world to see me, but I didn't want to be me So I shed my skin and became a restless hollow shadow trying to fit in Skipping stones on the water Watching ripples alter The relative cognizance seeps into our very own relevance and culture Moonlight shone at the break of dawn beyond the reservoir I was handcuffed to the backseat of a police car I was arrested a few times, but the real crime is all the friends that I buried To this day, I still don't know why we were all in such a hurry These are the moments that make all of us who we are The sadness and the sorrow, and every tomorrow, makes you who you are The pain and the suffering, the hope of recovering makes us who we are The love and the laughter, and everything that matters makes us who we are Our troubles and worries, and all of our stories make us who we are Every distraction and every course of action makes us who we are The smile on our faces and all of our places make us who we are The highs and the lows, and everyone we know makes us who we are