A Birthday Party Poem by Isaac Lomeli

Everyone was dancing
but to me
everything was in slow-motion
and I looked around
at all those lovely people
and stared at the reflections
of the world around them
in their eyes.
I felt this sense of significance
and I knew
this was one of those moments
I would reflect on
when I'm old
and figured out,
one of those moments
when you realize
how wondrous
and strange
life really is,
one of those moments
you go back to
when your paranoias
are restless.
That holy perception.
That perfect perception.
When everything is in its right place
and that song comes on
and you lose yourself
in that minute happiness
and your soul is on fire
and all that sweat has dried up
and you find love
in that late night drive back home
with her head on your shoulder
and you take that
deep
important breath
and proclaim your right to exist
'cause goddamnit,
you can't think of anyone else
that can exist like you can.