LONDON

This is a new feeling

Instead of wanting to hide away—

my insides coiling in the sounds of loud voices

filling up the room like a messy party—

I feel joyful, human connection

This privilege hovers over me like a warm mother

as I sit here at this restaurant in London

alone, but not lonely

Voices fill the room with music

and I catch the sounds in fistfuls

as they bounce off of my dinner table,

the velvet seats, the walls, the floor,

and the glasses of sparkling water and wine

triggering the twinkling candlelight

with their invigorating symphonies

allowing this light to not only stay alive,

but to grow bigger and bigger, and bigger

like a beating heart on a whim

impacted by one’s touch—

an enthusiastic, effervescent sensation

that keeps the heart EXCITED and young