Red Lights
Red Lights
by fourth year Alexis Kelley
I walked into the house the other day and the red lights were on.
As i walked up the dark porch steps,
after a long day of things and meetings and more things,
i could hear the chatter and laughter of my
favorite people.
Opening the door, i’m warmed by the smell of brownies
and the brewing of tea.
Everyone looks my way and i smile and say,
“Besties, i’m home”
We hung the red lights in the kitchen a few years ago for christmas.
We bought normal string lights, and added the red
because they were on sale.
After lugging in a real tree and making our own ornaments that
feature our silly faces,
our decorative minds were inspired enough to
line the cabinets with red string lights.
And we never took them down
because go dawgs
But now they serve as an aesthetic for “jolly time”.
This concept was also created at christmas time
(we’re not obsessed, just spirited).
It happens at that time of night when we’re all most exhausted,
we come out of our rooms and gather at the kitchen table.
Someone makes a few mugs of tea to stay awake,
baked goods are a plus, but not a necessity,
a candle is lit
and we talk
We talk about everything.
How was your day? What ever happened with that crazy group project?
Didn’t you say that your parents are coming this weekend?
How are they doing; did your dad’s dr appointment go well?
That concert we went to last week was the best, we should buy
tickets for next year.
Then we can see each other again
…
Because by then we won’t be living together
after 4 whole years of our lives, we’ll be apart for the first time
we’ll be at different points in our life
you’ll be married, you’ll be living across the world,
and you’ll be killing it no matter where you end up.
The tears well, but we’re not going to be sad till April
…
Back to “jolly time”.
You can learn about our entire lives there.
If there was ever anything you wanted to know about us,
come to the table and you’ll learn.
We have unexpected passions and in this kitchen,
we’re not afraid to share them.
The topic of conversation always starts normal and then
gets deeper as we discuss the different experiences we’ve had together
and the thoughts we carry with us
If the walls of that kitchen could speak they’d tell you about
our favorite snow day freshman year
or that time we went hiking in north georgia
or how all of our family is from the same small town, south georgia
but we didn’t become friends till college.
They’d tell you about drives to chattanooga or our home towns
or the hours and hours of foursquare and frisbee
we played in our driveway during
zoom school
They’d tell you about budding love.
and how hard it is to talk about it.
And more often, about the impracticality of dating and love.
They could share about the whispers they’ve heard us speak outside
looking at the stars or soaking up the sun
with the appropriate playlist playing for each.
They’d tell you about our horrible dog,
but how sweet the new one is.
All the things that make us, us - these walls have heard
The people who sit in these chairs, around this tall table
And sip on these mugs with us are our favorite.
It's not just the walls that have heard us, it’s our people.
Sometimes they come and go, but they’ve
helped us fill our house to the brim with memories.
So if you need some “jolly time”,
gather your people,
line your kitchen cabinets with red lights
and start talking.