goes good with Neutral Milk Hotel-In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

There's a picture in my mind. A picture of a person smiling at me.

It's a terrible picture really. The exposure is all wrong. The lighting- horrible.

And yet, I see this picture every where I go and I love it. More than anything in the world

I love this picture. There are trees in the background, red oaks with rustling fall leaves.

The sky is over cast with shades of grey. There's a small robin in one corner with

the sun occupying the other. A quiet picture, with a only a light wind blowing in the

background. One of those smiles that you smile just to smile, not because they answered a joke or preceded a laugh. A simple smile; true and clear.

At times life begs to question its meaning and fortitude. The cold wind ushers in seclusion and isolation. A conversation with a friend ends silently wrong. Your mother tries to be proud but can't find a reason. When your love is gone or hasn't even yet been found.

Those times are when I see this photo. Sometimes I chuckle a bit or quietly smirk but always it makes everything okay. That smile, without origin or base, is born of the void and it equalizes all. When you love so much and receive nothing in return that smile is there. When the world is crashing down upon your shoulders it is constant. Forever it is the friend at my side and without, truly friends, I am nothing.