"It's funny when they say we can't live alone.  I walk here every day, and I live alone.  

And when this path here turns where I don't want it to turn, I don't turn.

I walk on the do-not-walk-on grass."

"Grass was meant to be walked on, and fences were certainly not built for flowers."

He turns to me, smiling, heavy on his right side.  "And shoes were not made for walking.  They were made for confining and controlling--to tame the dark heart that beats inside my chest."

"My fist feels my feet and heart caged inside it," I say, passion spilling from my white toes.

"Those golden flowers are to let us look at the sun without being blind."

"I look at the sun."

Squinting at me, he says, "Don't."

"I won't."

photo by chris k.