she knows me

i have a friend
who likes to take pictures
she loves to capture moments
she loves to encapsulate time
she is the keeper, and the giver
of memories.

looking through her photographs
i am struck by awe and jealously.
she has the talent to come from behind
and SNAP you-
at your most vulnerable
your most happy
your true authentic self, uncensored.

i'm looking at myself in her photos thinking:
'this girl looks so happy to be alive'
it doesn't register that this girl is me inside of my head
because her gift is that of exposing reality as it is,
not as we believe it to be.

panting, deep breaths, high fives and hugs
can all be heard when you look through her lens
and they can be heard because we were there - i heard them too.

i was the deep breath for an exhausted friend
they were the high fives for a beaten spirit.
my friend has a gift to shape and change the world as i see it
as we see it - and know it, or believe it to be.

my friend has a gift to change the world
because through her lens, everything suddenly makes sense
looking as it should always have been seen
illustrating the very things we kill ourseleves striving for.

my friend has a gift
she
is a keeper, a holder, a giver, a bestower
my friend,
who likes to take pictures
introduces me to what i've always wanted to be..... a beautiful self