streetlights

 Walking down the sidewalk that  winds along the lakefront, dusk settling in. The children at the playground screaming and laughing as they play knowing that soon the calls from their parents will tell them it's time to go home. 
I walk, the wind blowing my hair into my face. I watch the waves on the lake beat up against the seawall, splashing up onto the sidewalk. It's a chilly evening for Florida, but it feels refreshing to get out of the house.  My thoughts seem to jump from one thing to the next, curiosity about the people that I just walked past, internal laughter at the man dancing alone in his car, smiling at the man running towards me on his evening jog. Suddenly the streetlights flicker above me, and tears spring to my eyes and I have to choke back a sob.  I will never view streetlights again in the same way. This time they are a reminder of all I have lost.  I walk on, blinking rapidly, hoping the tears don't fall and that no one notices.