Nightime

There is most definitely something about the night time. You could say fear, you could say mischief, you could say sleep. But what comes to mind about the night is half hidden. Something that people rarely talk about unless something amazing happened. But I think that only heightens it. there is still something about being outside at night. The way the moon lights up the grass and gives it new dimensions. Or the way that darkness leaves room for your imagination to paint its own better landscape. We have been bedazzled with colors all of our lives and had them thrown at us so maybe sometimes it is when the colors are taken away that we see the beauty around us.

What is it for you about night that some of your greatest memories have taken place in? Was it with your friends? Were you running? Did you look up at the stars? Were you singing, listening, or playing music? Were you intoxicated? It is almost like night has an intoxicating aroma in itself. Is it because that is the time for these "mischievous" acts?

For me night is something primal. Something that hits a part of me far buried in the reaches of time. As if someone from the past wanted me to remember what this felt like, or to just appreciate it as much as they did. That moment can hit when I am looking up at the stars; craning my neck, mouth open as if I have breath it in too. It can happen when I look at the shadows and contrasts of hills in the night which seem to gain such depths that the valleys in between look like chasms of unknown. The night makes me want to run, run as if the only thing to stop it would be to leave the ground and fly through the night sky. It is so dark it seems I could jump into it and never return.

But wait, there is something more to the night that gives us those gentle trills in our minds. Something that could be a separate experience and feeling of its own but cannot do so without the combination of night. that is a fire. Something that seems to be such a friend but intriguing in its destructive power. What is that fascination that we have for fire at night? When all we are is captivated faces in a sea of black looking at the ribbons of flame. What is that power it has that can leave us content to stare at it without talking or do quite the opposite. That makes us want to sing and rarely, dance like the fire dances. Something that i rarely think about is what is fire but something that warms and flickers? It is the only thing that can be right in front of my face but seem so two dimensional. Fire is something you can put your hand through but wont give you any feeling but heat. Is fire a material or just energy that burns off of anything and burns orange, yellow, blue, and red. Think about it fire has such crazy unnatural colors but seems so familiar to us. I believe that fire is the only thing that we can go into (mentally) and be alone with our thoughts in no matter what is going on around you. A T.V. doesn't nearly tune you out as much as a fire does.

But there is so much more to the night than we think about. It can be two totally different things if it involves friends or just yourself. Keep in mind I am only going to mention the voluntary night escapades with yourself and not the involuntary which can take on a open frightening feel. Night by yourself can be a place of security where nobody is there but yourself and your thoughts. But take a second to think about your friends, now take a second to think about which friends are your night friends. There is a difference. What is it about night that makes our friends seem so different. Not just physically but in attitude as well. Their face takes on a so much more different look that it seems like they are specific to you and everyone else that knows them knows them differently. These are your night friends. It seems like friends are more open to conversation, thoughts, and wonder. I say wonder because more things seem to turn into questions at night. Instead of being given answers you are given just as valid if not more significant questions. The people that you share your nights outside filled with wonder with should be the people you spend your life with.

The only thing that I can say about a night of intoxication is that when that moment I was talking about earlier can still hit you and make you totally sober at that second. Other than that there is not much to tell because everything is so euphoric that every experience feels different.

So to my night friends I give you a secret homage because although I have spent nights with different friends very few fall into this mysterious beautiful category. Why else would the phrase "what a wonderful night" not be used after every weekend? (Not sexualy although in some cases you could say that. lol)