I MET A MIND READER.

I have not seen the Sun in 7 days.

I have seen Frankfurt,

Oslo,

Copenhagen,

Reykjavík,

Helsinki.

5 countries

and 1 planet.

Just Earth.

No stars.

Just clouds.

And no Sun…

Earth is bleaker in the dark.

The gray hazy dark.

The upside-down and sleepless dark.

Not the romantic kind

that fills the gaps in between city lights

and candlelit dinners

and moonlight bouncing o of crystal glasses

lled with champagne, lipstick-stained.

I sat on an old bus,

packed in like crowded teeth in a young mouth,

and I saw a little girl.

She frowned at me.

I began to panic.

They say children can sense dread.

This is the first child who hasn’t smiled

when I cast a glance in thеir direction.

Has my heart,

once so full of lovе,

nally drained itself like a yellow raisin?

Will the children begin to notice?

She looks at me quizzically and smiles.

Kicks her feet

and then shakes her head no.

As if to answer my question.

I met a mind reader. Aged 4 or 5.

I have seen light burst forth from a magic eye.

From a heart more wholesome than mine.

Astronomic miracles, in an unfathomable form.

But I still haven’t seen the Sun