Where are you? You’re everywhere! You’re in my smile. You’re in every breath I breathe! You’re in the backyard while feeding cashews to doves and squirrels and blue jays! You’re everywhere the sun appears to shine. You’re comfort in the shade. Your blues are on parade! You’re the loving smile in my puppy dog’s eyes! You’re everywhere I go! You’re the people I talk to. And you know what? You guessed it! They’re all talking about you. How wonderful you are! You just can’t hear all that’s going on when it’s quiet in your world. Well, you can if you try! When you’re silent, and you close your eyes. When you feel this little sunburst inside, that’s them! They’re all talking about the wonderful week you had! This woman from Nebraska. This guy from Illinois. And this one silly guy who’s in love with you! They’re laughing over the scene that he’s caused. It’s bedlam, I tell you! Ah, but it’s all par for the course with you! “I didn’t do anything!!” you yell exasperatedly, and yet so unmistakably big and happily. I know!! It’s simply the madness that surrounds you!! You’re this bursting ray of sun! You’re starlight! Oh, you shine such a bright light! Sometimes you forget it’s shining — on everyone!! Did you see her on Friday! Yes, they’re saying! I caught her on Tuesday, too! Did you see what she was wearing? Yes! She was in black, and it was like seeing Sophia Loren in some old Italian movie! Well, when *I* saw her she was red on red! Oh! For me she was blue on blue! And I swear she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen in the world! Still another chimes in! For me, it was less about her looks! It’s more in the way she carries herself. I don’t know how she delivers so many facts! She’s so good. You know the real thing when you see it, and she’s a pro through and through. And she has this energy that’s effortless! It’s big and it’s buoyant and yet it’s calm. She’s disarming! I swear it flows from her heart! So much so you’d feel her with your eyes closed, when she’s in the room. That spirit of hers is so phenomenal, yes, you *feel* it. With her! Oh, you do!! Oh, yes, it’s true! Even if you lost all five of your senses, God forbid! You’d still know when she shows up! You can *feel* when she’s around! She gets in your heart, and she’s in your head. She’s bigger than life, and yet she’s so wonderfully real. That’s what they’re all saying about you! That, and so much more! When you think the lights are off, this party’s just getting started, pal! People love to reminisce about you. In this kind of way. You might not hear them, but they’re here! They’re making a mess of my floor! You’ve made quite an impression on everyone! This love for you is tremendous! Do you think she’ll appear again? I’m counting on it! It’s why I get up at 4:47! All in the hope she’ll be seen. She has that special power. Well, why not? She’s the greatest thing going! She’s apple trees and amber fields. She reminds you why you’re living! She’s the best at what she does! And I’m guessing she’d be the best at what she’s not doing! She can do it all! Ah, I so wonder what her heart is thinking. Is there a chance I’m in there somewhere? Even if secretly? Hiding under the back porch? I’ll take it! If so, that’s the best place to be! I’ve brought my sleeping bag, and a sack of homemade popcorn. A flashlight and a book to read! I can camp out here until morning! And come back again when it’s getting dark. There’s no place more safe and secure, than to take refuge in your heart. And feel it beating! That’s the sound of God right there! That’s the “Om!” the Buddhists are chanting! All the secrets of the world are stored right in here! It’s why we’re all jostling for position! “Please let us in!” And you pull back the curtain from your window. “Ah! Not *you* again!!” But you let ‘em in. Cuz that’s where they’re so happy! And you don’t really mind. It’s the price of being so loved and so prized. Everyone wants a little piece of you. And it gives them peace. And a lot of it. It’s all that they desired. And they’re now resting like babies in your heart. Like precious angels. Oh, no, here comes the snoring!! Ah!!!! She’s had enough!! And they scatter out again, and go back to their writing. Sonnets and pleas of love! All this pining!! Oh, well, at least it’s never boring! Everyone wants a part of your heart. A corner will suffice! Newton proved gravity is real, but he never imagined with you, everything is a magnet! Poor Newton never got to meet you! I think it’s why Beethoven looked so mad! He’s got that “Where the hell *is* she?!” look in all those paintings. And poor Newton only gets a bump on the head by a falling apple. Think of so many who lived full lives, and never once got to see you. Well, those can’t be full lives at all!! I mean, you’re the whole *reason!* When I saw you, after decades in the flesh, like so many, I knew, “A-ha! Here’s the reason for being!!” It’s what you feel when you’ve never felt so much before! In all those years of living. You come along, and – bam!! – here it is, boys! Get a load of this sunshine!! And hearts begin their healing. You’re *that* astounding!! You’re beguiling. You’re mystifying. All the time!! It has nothing to do with your body or your face! Although you’re the most beautiful thing this world has ever graced! It’s You! I can feel you with my eyes closed. You fill up the room! You’re magic! It’s what you see, and it’s what you’re not seeing, too! Now you see me, and now you don’t! The energy of you is unmistakable! It’s doesn’t matter if you’re down or you’re up! That’s the most important part to impress. Even when you feel at your worst, you’re somebody else’s dream come true. I promise you it’s true. You’re everything I’ve ever loved – that feeling – all bottled up and it explodes like a cavalcade of stars! Every single cotton-picking time you come into view! Nobody – and I mean, NOBODY!! – does what you do!! Oh, these feelings are too much to name! But it’s bliss and it’s sunshine and it’s that certain scent on the street after a light spring rain. It’s euphoria and aphrodisiacs and lotsa big words that sound like that! Every time you’re seen. It’s the feeling of you. Made up of a hundred feelings that all have to be sorted through! After it explodes and lines the street like ticker tape! What’s this piece? That’s the lavender! Oh, that’s an Ollie hair! (Don’t worry! He’s safe and okay! We’re figuratively speaking!) What about this one over here? Oh! That’s her bliss! Hold onto that!! What about this? That’s her smile – when she moved her lips so slightly – way back last May! When you thought she said Thank You! And you died a thousand deaths!! So many treasures over so many days! So many pieces of you! Felt all at once! And we all fall together. It’s how guys get so crazy! And they do the silliest things! Just to be noticed by you. Well, hopefully! When life feels like a carnival inside, who needs self-importance and a wikipedia page? Or any of those things that make us feel special? They really don’t! It’s all agitation. I’d only want them if I thought it impressed you. *Then* it’s worth getting. But happiness isn’t there at all. Happiness is an amusement park where the lights are always turned on! That’s what’s going on! Inside of me. All the time! All because you’re seen. It’s all because you’re you. Oh, people are talking. I promise you that. They’re all talking about *you.* You’re on everybody’s minds! You’re the most beautiful person who has ever been. And when you’re not seen, the party still goes on. In full effect. Conversations about how immaculate you are. The effect that you have, that carries a heart along. Your poise and your grace and your aplomb. Your laughing at yourself for any perceived weakness in a tweet. You only endear yourself to others and to me. They’re talking about your eyes and your smile. Your smarts and your style. About how they can *feel* you when you appear! You’re magic that way. You’ve got everybody feeling today!! This carnival of lights that goes on inside – it never ends. Even when you’re away. Where are you? You’re everywhere. Every moment of every day. ❤️