corners of your mind

viii

in the city, the night is different. life is a constant at any hour of the day, and the night makes no difference. but it makes it hard to look up and see the stars— see the things that make you feel small and feel inferior, the things that make you question yourself and the universe. instead of the stars, the city has street lamps and neon signs, billboards filled with ads. you can hear the constant roar of cars on the freeways, and see the headlights moving as the pass by, filling the air with bright yellow then red as they leave. in the apartment complexes and stores, the stars are the twinkling lights of high rise buildings and office buildings that look overhead. in the city, the true stars never really come out, always being replaced by the bright lights of the city. but as you move away from the city, into the smaller towns and suburbs, the night and life becomes so different. once the last shop closes for the night, the streets are basically empty. there's one or two cars out, but otherwise it's empty, and all you can hear are the frogs and birds and crickets. and suddenly it's like you're in a different world, because everyone is asleep and you are awake. it feels like you've conquered the world, and nothing else matters but you in that moment. you're free to live for yourself. and the freeway are weird, because there's more cars, all going to a certain place, just passing by. and each person inside each car has their own story, their own place they're going to be at in the morning. but the night is also the same everywhere in a way. it's a whole other world on its own. thoughts and words spoken and shared are secret to the daylight. the deepest, darkest secrets are shared at night, being kept prisoner by the night— each word spoken is being placed in the trust of night—hoping it will remain secret under the blanket of the moon and the stars. the night does not translate into the day, and the day does not translate into the night. the night is where your worst fears come out, where demons and monsters come out to play.

3/3/17