diners
diners are a gathering place of sorts.
their familiar but oh-so-slightly different decor.
the shiny, sticky red booths.
the pristine, white mugs that always seem to have a tiny chip on them.
the sugar packets that are seldom used.
the flimsy plastic menus.
and there’s always that one waiter,
the one who seems like they belong in LA or New York,
the one with the tattoos, stretched ears and sad smile that reads,
“i should be someplace else.”
in my years of people watching-
i’ve seen more sadness in diners than happiness.
i’ve seen eyes cry over the loss of something,
i’ve seen hushed arguments and longing eyes.
i guess there’s something about the dimmed lights
and the ever flowing stream of coffee that makes it a fitting place for deflated souls.
i ponder all of this when the waiter with the long hair and tattooed arms walks over.
my white, chipped cup filled with coffee for the fifth, no- tenth, no- 20th time.
i finger the sugar packets, considering using one, but that would break my ritual.
the smell of grease from the kitchen envelops me and i feel restrained.
i look up and see a young girl with fierce eyes that pierce the woman across from her.
i see a child run up the aisles as his mother cries to a man in a suit.
i see an older man sipping the same coffee in the same cup as me,
he’s probably looking for something to make him feel again, too.
and yet, despite all of these horrid emotions unwrapping in this diner-
the fluorescent lights still shine,
the coffee still brews
and hearts still ache.
maybe i should people watch someplace new.
24 hours
i am like a full day. twenty four hours. sunrise to sunset.
the sunrise is the sunset's yang.
no matter how long the sun rises, it always sets.
one without the other would result in a catastrophe.
i am like those 24 hours.
somedays, the sun shines bright in my life.
glistening over every action of mine, causing a skip in my step.
other days, the sun is set in my life.
the darkness runs rampant throughout my mind, reducing me to an almost fetal-like state.
i can not have one without the other. i need the balance.
i can not appreciate the sunrise if i have never seen the sunset.
but maybe life is not about only appreciating the light.
maybe it is about finding the light in the dark.
the glistening star in the black abyss. the beacon in the night.