What Are You Waiting For?

I see them; you cannot hide them from me.

I see them. I see their glowing eyes nervously peeking over your shoulder as you pass me on the street. I look back, just for a moment, and give them a reassuring smile. My eyes tell them they can never die. It makes them curious. Usually my kind don’t notice their presence. They are intrigued, but they do not trust me. I look too much like one of them – like one of you. They quickly return their frail bodies to the safety of your cardigan.

I see them. Once as big as mountains, they have become a collection of pebbles that you squeeze into your pocket. Caged since infancy, they no longer remember what it means to be free. They have forgotten the summer. Knowing only the darkness of the winter you’ve banished them to, they do not dream of spring. They can hope only of hope.

I see them. I cannot hear them though, for they speak only in whispers. They mustn’t disturb you. They know they shouldn’t be out at this time. It’s against your rules. They should never be awake at the same time as you are. Now is the time for work not for their silly games. It’s time for grown up stuff. They’ve been told before: they have no place in the real world.

I see them. Yet you can barely remember what they look like. You’d have forgotten them completely if not for their little visits. They like to say hello. Even though you’ve given up on them, they remember you fondly and will stay with you always. They are everywhere. Under the burning of the sun, they drift on the breeze gently caressing your face. Sitting on the beach, they surf on the waves lapping at your feet. They are the dancing flames of passion in the deep and dark eyes of a lover.

I see them. You met them as a child. You used to lay in the grass and laugh with them. You were best friends. Sometimes you would spend all day together talking of days to come. You believed in one another.

One day, not so long ago, you were told you could no longer see each other. Your parents wouldn’t allow it. Your teachers forbade it. You could no longer be friends.

But I still see them. They are your dreams.

I see you, too.

You who has walked with giants. You who has braved the darkness. You who is born of the light.

I’ve seen the stardust in your bones and the sunlight in your eyes. Ancestors who protect you course through your veins. Your roots run deep into mother earth, and she holds you with care and love. The knowledge inside of you is as deep as the ocean, and your soul is as vast as its murky depths. You possess the strength of a God – you are one.