1-7-2026

No day is ever about me

Today even less than most

But I can only see the world through my own eyes

And feel with my own heart

And I feel that today is a day for writing

It’s nighttime

I’m alone on the beach at the edge of Lake Michigan

I can hear ropes bouncing against the masts of sailboats that have retired for the winter

A dull and somber tolling

The sound reminds me of windchimes from a home I know in Minnesota

Windchimes commemorating those who died too soon

It’s the clearest night Chicago has seen this year

And stars shine quietly above the dark lake

Their faint glow is still stronger than usual

Contrasting the overwhelming light of the city behind me

Starlight reflects in my eyes

City light shines on my back

I don’t believe in the separation of human and non-human worlds

But today I wish that I did

I don’t want to be part of the human world for a while

I want a few days away

I’m so tired

I only want to be the cold sand between my toes

The grass in my teeth

And the stars above the lake

But in between the stars

Human lights

Planes fall towards O’Hare in the west

Spanning the space between the sky and the city

The human and non-human are not separate

But the sailboats will chime for as long as there is wind

And the lake and the stars will always welcome me back

I need to go to sleep