Born of the Woods. Ruled By None.

Sitting across from you..  both of us wearing ourselves in the open.     I watch the words bouncing from my mouth, off of your eyes.. and into the street.  And the bicycles run them over in front of Regions' Field.   The IPA in my glass stares up at me,  grinning back at me,  looking delicious.  
And for a second I want to fight to hold on to my anger, my struggle to work over the world's insufficencies.   but that thought faulters.    And I grin. 
  And I'm left with the serene silence of your company..  the of the moment..  that we're here and the world is a quiet creature.    Inhaling, exhaling, admiring the stars...  who are also silent and spectacular.   
I am overwhelmed with gladness to be here.     This is not the story you read about!!   or have ever known!!    This is not the wheel turning over and over..  or the headstone laying in wait for you..    it is something else.    Born of the woods, ruled by none.     I am enthralled, no matter where it leads. 

Andrew Tipton

The Vandals of North Point St.

Call me crazy,
but I never saw this coming,
your phone call, the exuberance in your voice describing the way those apartment keys feel in your hands. 
San Francisco!!   You sly one.    You extraordinary magician.
There was the broken glass, the door half dented.. I remember the sadness and desperation in your eyes.
Ahhh.. I felt so much anguish that afternoon..    like maybe?!   
Maybe we shouldn't be here..?
Maybe I was wrong to take you sailing..? 
And I never in a thousand years would have believed..  that the universe was secretly conspiring..  that it's intention was to lead you somewhere incredible.. somewhere you never could have gone otherwise!    
We pretend that we know where goodness comes from...  like we can see it, like we can say with the utmost clarity..  YES, NO, YES, NO.  
YES.  This is good for me.    NO. This is bad for me.
But we are clueless!!  
Goodness doesn't play by our rules,..  it doesn't speak the same language or abide by our emotions. 
Its wrecking havoc, and in the same instant..  setting us up for something wonderful.  
I love that I know this much of the story..  that I was with you for every step of the way.. 
The heartbreak and the hope and the realization..     all of it.
Because it shatters my fear into pieces!!
It makes me realize that I don't have all the answers..  that the universe is not anxiously awaiting my perfect decision.   
This is a wild adventure..   we should keep our hands open.. and our eyes gleaming.
I'll visit you soon.



-Andrew Tipton