Twenty Ten

We are only the prayers of a white lynx.. the sounds of a river to the deaf.. we are the tuning of an instrument.. we are only the dreams of woven fabric.. The creation of whispers of leaves, the scent of earth before we are stolen. Run slowly, taste slowly, kiss slowly, touch slowly.. live slowly as to feel everything beautiful and fleeting..because I remember we all die. I remember we all lived at once. Choosing. What it was that was ours. What needed no explanation. The silhouette of our own hearts' deepest smile. Pluck it wildly from the field; from wherever you find it.

Even with my eyes closed I still see flashes of reds and blues - streaks of silver-lined brilliance from the inside of my eyelids. The girl on my right has her back pressed into me, I can feel her breathes as they enter her lungs. My arms are raised, fingers reaching for heaven, chants tremble from my lips, my body sways side to side - fueled by the hypnotic throb of electric bass and drums.. entranced by the sweet gyration of four hundred other sweating animals. This is my beginning - the sacred birth of twenty-ten.

I stand here counting down the final few seconds of 31536000.. and through my thoughts I see the echos of beautiful seconds! How incredible to remember. I see voices screaming lyrics on street corners, I see sunsets from a hammock, I see campfires glimmering under starlight on the bank of a river, I see sailboats, I see sunrises from airplanes, I see laughter. I see friendship, I see lovers swimming in waterfall pools. I see exhaustion, I see anguish. I see seduction, and bravery and wilderness, and pride, and humility, and rebellion, and creation... I see so much pleasure in it all. In every one of these 31536000 seconds. It is life that brings me to my knees in awe, I look up with wide gaping eyes and mouth. The creature of life, the entity, the swirling, spinning, evolving motion that I am a part of. Tonight. Here. I am awake. I am aware. I am bewilderment.
Twenty ten. Twenty ten. Here is another 31536000 seconds.. what will we do? I cannot believe I get to live this long.




(Andrew Tipton)