Autumnal Equinox

Yesterday evening I walked up Beacon toward Commonwealth—not many people out. As if my presence caused it, all the streetlights blinked on at once. For a moment, I thought something else might happen: a chance encounter with a classmate, a twenty-dollar bill crumpled in the gutter, the perfect ending to a poem writing itself in autumn drizzle on the sidewalk. I stuffed my hands deeper into the pockets of my hoodie, continued my walk around Uno’s and onto Boylston. The lights probably flicked off in a similar way at dawn when I was sleeping. I always thought I would like to be asleep when my lights go out. Completely unconscious like Uncle Walter, whose heart disintegrated under a surgeon’s scalpel. This morning walking to class down Bay State in the breeze—leaves shimmering, cheering me on—I realize it would be better to die laughing.

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