Have you ever stood by the sea and watched it turn to gold? Breathe the heavy salt air and watch the sun-sized nickel sink into a river of glittering fabrics. Catch the sky in your chinos and the sand in your sandals and laugh as the sky becomes a drape of persian blue. Feel the felt flying over your head as the world behind you blows away.

Have you ever opened your eyes in the middle of a conversation and seen that everyone around you is hollow? See our skin turn to a shell of ghostly satin humming our words, vibrating to the world. Know we are all drums pounding our song, all of us each others' drummers. Listen to the throbbing of talk in the crowded room, different songs all made by the same impetus.

Have you ever looked in a mirror and seen yourself as an old person smiling back? See the scars of years on yourself, and vow to make yourself proud. Hear the gravel in your voice and the cancer in your lungs and know that every minute you are dying. Reach out to comfort yourself and touch only glass, the silver coating of the future too far away for you to reach. Know that all of your knowledge will not help you change your fate. Walk outside and breathe in the sunlight and decide that it's all worth it.

I haven't. I hope to.