Staring

Some moments I will always remember.

Fortaleza, Brazil, Age 21:

An experiential workshop, held on a stage

A man, young, but older than I was then

The prompt: Stare into one another’s eyes for five minutes.

We stared and it was funny

We stared and it was awkward

We stared and it was melancholy

We stared and it was painful

His two eyes blurred into one

An endless well of feeling and sadness and a strange kind of knowing

Then all at once it was over

And we walked outside, separately,

blinking in the sunlight.