Just like anyone else
I had a dream
But dreams change, so do goals
As did mine when I saw her
I couldn’t get my mind off her
I couldn’t stop thinking about her
I couldn’t help it
I wanted to see her again.
But I didn’t know who she was
I didn’t know if I’d ever see her face again
I didn’t even know what school she went to
So I went to find out.
I followed her
I loved watching her walk
I loved watching her steps
Her feet hitting the ground were an art form
And I wished everyone could walk like that.
She walked for seven blocks, and she never looked behind her
Never saw me, never noticed, never questioned
She just walked along, like a person
But she was more than a person.
I saw her go into her house
I’m assuming it was hers
With flower pots of daisies on the steps
And an empty bird bath in the lawn filled with autumn leaves.
I stood outside her house for a very long time,
Memorizing it
The twelve daisies, three of them only buds
The chip in the side of the wall
The mailbox, knocked crooked from the snowplow or a bad driver
The slatted blinds instead of flowing curtains
The window at the top of the house, that I can just barely see into
Where she stands and looks out.
I moved away from my street side post
So she could not see me
So she could not meet me
So I could watch her for a while
And get to know her
For who she is
Not for how she acts.
I just wanted to know.