• I walked along the river path
    Staring down at my Converse shoes
    With Sufjan sounding in my ear

    As Sufjan faded away
    The Jonas Brothers started playing
    I quickly shoved my hand in my pocket
    To get rid of the awful noise

    As soon as my hand reached my iPod the music stopped
    I had not touched anything and was curious as to why it had
    I pulled out my iPod only to find that it was out of battery

    I sighed and wound the earphones around the metal music player
    I walked up the cracked concrete steps and onto the loud bridge
    It smelled of sewage and rotting fish

    I stood in the middle of the bridge, overlooking the river
    One doesn’t realize how shaky a bridge can be
    Until they place their arms on the metal guard

    The wind coming off the river was strong and cold
    I was worried that even with gel in my hair
    It would still get messed up

    I realized how high up the metal guards were
    And how easy it would be to climb over them
    Then I saw the river hundreds of feet below
    And thought of how scary it would be to only have
    Six inches of concrete beneath you

    Just as I was going to turn away
    I saw a little black and white duck
    Paddling upstream

    I shook my head, thinking this duck was stupid
    For trying to swim upstream in this wind
    But I was curious to see how far it would get

    As I stood watching the duck for the next twenty minutes
    I was intrigued as to why it did not swim to one of the riverbanks
    Or quit and continue downstream with the rest of the river

    The duck turned into a little speck and I turned to leave once more
    As I took a step away from the side I looked at the duck for the last time
    I saw the duck start flapping its wings and soon after take flight

    I searched my coat pockets for a pen and paper
    To record what I had just witnessed
    So it would be implanted in my memory forever

    Instead I found half a bag of M&M’s,
    A map to an old retreat center,
    Part of a carpet,
    An open Jimmy John’s pin,
    And a rootbeer Dum-Dum sucker

    I settled for the M&M’s and happily ate them
    On my way down the stairs
    While popping them into my mouth one at a time
    I thought about something I had read

    It had said that if chocolate does not melt in your mouth
    It is not real chocolate
    I checked the M&M and found that it did not melt
    I questioned the authenticity of the chocolate candies

    But my thinking was interrupted by loud music
    I looked up at a stonewall and the top of a mansion
    The music seemed to sound unreal and only there to comfort the listener


    I looked back to the path just in time to dodge
    A woman bending over her orange backpack
    I raised an eyebrow and looked at the papers in her hand
    As I passed by her

    With only five blocks to go until I reached home
    I ran out of M&M’s and placed the wrapper in my pocket
    I was finally beginning to see large buildings again
    And missed the nature I had come from

    As I slumped down the sidewalk I pondered
    Whether or not I should zip up my jacket
    I came to the conclusion that it was not that cold

    I surveyed the residential neighborhood
    And a plank of wood nailed to a light pole
    Caught my attention

    When I got closer to the pole I could see
    The thick black letters
    On the piece of light yellow wood

    The plank was nailed to face the street
    So everyone passing by could be greeted
    With three simple words
    “YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL”

    ~MBK