Somewhere in the restaurant, a waiter dropped a glass on the ground The shattered pieces reflected the stares of customers and staff, the sous chef who overcooked a medium rare sirloin into a well-done hamburger, the head chef who averted his eyes from the accident to scold him, The waiter two tables away who looked at the downturned eyes of the waiter after shattering the glass, with a tentative empathy as not to startle them And to show they’ve been there before. Than the busboy and their slight shrug, one of dismissal and acknowledgement A somber recognition that tell a story of many crashes and many spills, a story they don’t care to tell. And finally Him. In the moment he heard the glass shatter, when everyone’s attention was averted instantly as if it was a lighthouse to a sailor, he kept staring at me. With all of the action, the pitter patter of humans falling on gestures, varied features coiling and springing with a mechanical sharpness too organic to be machine, He continued to stare at me. Only after a moment did he look back, when he realized everyone else was, and only than did I see his reflection There was no forlorn empathy, nor anger, nor any remnant of a story to tell It was cold. And if for every inch and every perspective I saw closer from, his eyes draw miles more distant. Telling nothing, saying nothing. 6 months ago I saw his empty eyes and I drew a picture of curiosity, a deer leaving the woods. 3 months later I saw potential, a puzzle to solve And every moment the puzzle got larger And the deer wandered farther away. Staring at the shattered glass I saw his teeth give way, his muscles contract, and his voice boom I felt the deer being cold, lost in a maze. He began to laugh louder, quietly but manically, attracting the attention of the chefs, the waiters, the bus boy. The deer was freezing, and it left the maze in the forest And after a moment, he composed himself and stared back at me. The remnants of laughter stained his lips And in that moment the deer realized it left the forest because of a snow storm And found itself in front of the headlights of a car on the highway The deer looked back. And realized the headlights weren’t so distant. Empty, bright. And harboring fear.