Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe #1)

by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

The problem with my life was that it was someone else’s idea.

I got to thinking that poems were like people. Some people you got right off the bat. Some people you just didn’t get—and never would get.

That afternoon, I learned two new words. “Inscrutable.” And “friend.” Words were different when they lived inside of you.

Through that telescope, the world was closer and larger than I’d ever imagined. And it was all so beautiful and overwhelming and—I don’t know—it made me aware that there was something inside of me that mattered.

“Too much light pollution,” he said. “Too much light pollution,” I answered.

And why was it that some guys had tears in them and some had no tears at all? Different boys lived by different rules.

I could be something and nothing at the same time. I could be necessary and also invisible. Everyone would need me and no one would be able to see me.

“Every day? You’re worse than me.” He looked at the hail. “It’s like pissed off snow,” he said.

I bet you could sometimes find all of the mysteries of the universe in someone’s hand.

I was smiling the rest of the day. Sometimes, all you have to do is tell people the truth. They won’t believe you. After that, they’ll leave you alone.

There is a famous painting, Nighthawks, by Edward Hopper. I am in love with that painting. Sometimes, I think everyone is like the people in that painting, everyone

The summer sun was not meant for boys like me. Boys like me belonged to the rain.

Everyone was always becoming someone else.

Maybe we just lived between hurting and healing.